March 28, 2008 Visit
We met today with Kevin who is the pond specialist for the Soil and Water District to determine where ponds could be built.
Kevin pointed out areas where soil slippage would be a problem if dammed. Additionally, we should not build so close to Sharp’s Fork that the pond would be flooded when the creek rises. We did pick two areas that look good. The first is straight east about 600 feet from where our road enters our woodland. He used a probe to check for underlying rock strata and for soil type. There is clay soil down at least six feet. (Clay is GOOD for dams). We could build a pond of 3/4 acre to 2 acres depending on costs.
The second site is a small valley near the northern edge of the pasture. This would bean easy dam to construct, but the site is a good distance from the cabin. We might build a pond here later, the other site is more attractive.
One great surprise is that the Beechmere stream channel, where hundreds of small Black Willow saplings grow, has filled in. The willows have held back the stream sediment to the point that water can no longer flow. So, the stream now, instead of flowing more or less east, flows south to the old Sharps’ Fork channel, and then joins Sharp’s Fork near the southern edge of the pasture. It would be a major project to force the stream back into it’s old channel. In fact, this new channel as it is closer to the cabin, may be a good change.
The pasture is quite wet this time of year as much water is flowing down from the surrounding hills. It is clear, more than ever, that we should pursue returning this to be a wetlands
