Fair Use of This PDF File of the Pond Guidebook, NRAES-178 by Jim Ochterski, Bryan Swistock, Clifford Kraft, and Rebecca Schneid
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Fair Use of this PDF file of The Pond Guidebook, NRAES-178 By Jim Ochterski, Bryan Swistock, Clifford Kraft, and Rebecca Schneider Published by NRAES, October 2007 This PDF file is for viewing only. If a paper copy is needed, we encourage you to purchase a copy as described below. Be aware that practices, recommendations, and economic data may have changed since this book was published. Text can be copied. The book, authors, and NRAES should be acknowledged. Here is a sample acknowledgement: ----From The Pond Guidebook, NRAES-178, by Jim Ochterski et al., and published by NRAES (2007).---- No use of the PDF should diminish the marketability of the printed version. This PDF should not be used to make copies of the book for sale or distribution. If you have questions about fair use of this PDF, contact NRAES. Purchasing the Book You can purchase printed copies on NRAES’ secure web site, www.nraes.org, or by calling (607) 255-7654. Quantity discounts are available. NRAES PO Box 4557 Ithaca, NY 14852-4557 Phone: (607) 255-7654 Fax: (607) 254-8770 Email: [email protected] Web: www.nraes.org More information on NRAES is included at the end of this PDF. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION NRAES-178 The Pond Guidebook Jim Ochterski Senior Extension Educator Cornell Cooperative Extension Bryan Swistock Senior Extension Assistant College of Agricultural Sciences School of Forest Resources, The Pennsylvania State University Clifford Kraft Associate Professor Department of Natural Resources Cornell University Rebecca Schneider Associate Professor and Leader Department of Natural Resources Extension Cornell University Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) Cooperative Extension PO Box 4557 Ithaca, New York 14852-4557 i nraes–178 September 2007 © 2007 by NRAES (Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service). All rights reserved. Inquiries invited. isbn 978-1-933395-13-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The pond guidebook / written by Jim Ochterski . [et al.]. p. cm. — (NRAES ; 178) Includes bibliographical references. isbn-13: 978-1-933395-13-5 (pond guidebook : alk. paper) 1. Ponds. 2. Ponds—Design and construction. 3. Pond aquaculture. 4. Pond plants. 5. Pond animals. 6. Ponds—Recreational use. I. Ochterski, Jim, 1968– II. Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service. Cooperative Extension. III. Series: NRAES (Series) ; 178. td392.p66 2007 627'.14—dc22 2007027889 Requests to reprint parts of this publication should be sent to NRAES. In your request, please state which parts of the publication you would like to reprint and describe how you intend to use the material. Contact NRAES if you have any questions. Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) Cooperative Extension PO Box 4557 Ithaca, New York 14852-4557 Phone: (607) 255-7654 Fax: (607) 254-8770 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.nraes.org DISCLAIMER Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or commercial firm in text, tables, or figures does not constitute an endorsement by the Cooperative Extension System or the publisher and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms. Book design by Concord Editorial and Design. ii Contents Acknowledgments iv About the Authors v Foreword 1 Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your Pond 5 Chapter 2 Pond Construction and Maintenance 23 Chapter 3 Fish Management in Ponds 39 Chapter 4 Aquatic Plants and Weeds in Ponds 49 Chapter 5 Attracting and Managing Wildlife 61 Chapter 6 Pond Recreation, Safety, and Fire Suppression 65 Appendix A Pond Assessment Form 71 Appendix B Sources of Pond Maintenance Supplies 75 Photo and Image Credits 76 iii Acknowledgements he authors thank the various landowners tom mccarty who have asked questions during the past Water Quality Educator decade, plus the numerous agency personnel, The Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Tcooperative extension educators, private consultants, Extension and contractors who have generously contributed their knowledge, experience, and advice regarding mark richer pond management. District Technician The authors also thank Dr. Thomas McCarty, The Chemung County Soil and Water Conservation District Pennsylvania State University, for his special contribu- Horseheads, NY tion to the book. He was a significant source of infor- mation related to the pond water quality chapter. kenneth j. semmens Penn State Cooperative Extension publication UH Extension Specialist, Aquaculture 137, Management of Fish Ponds in Pennsylvania, was West Virginia University a significant source of information for this book. jacqueline u. takacs Peer Reviewers Regional Marine Specialist Maryland Sea Grant Extension Program sharon anderson University of Maryland Watershed Steward Cayuga Lake Watershed Network daniel e. terlizzi Interlaken, NY Water Quality Specialist/Sea Grant Extension Program University of Maryland / CANR / robert e. graves Center of Marine Biotech Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering The Pennsylvania State University eric watkins Conservation District Technician jurij homziak Tioga County Soil and Water Conservation District Associate Professor Owego, NY Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont jeffrey a. white Pond Owner albert r. jarrett Berkshire, New York Professor of Agricultural Engineering The Pennsylvania State University alan wood State Project Engineer john jemison USDA–Natural Resources Conservation Service Professor Harrisburg, PA University of Maine Cooperative Extension peter wright william lynch State Conservation Engineer Program Specialist USDA–Natural Resources Conservation Service Aquatic Ecosystem Management Syracuse, NY Ohio State University Extension iv About the Authors im ochterski is a senior extension educator with lifford kraft, associate professor of fishery Cornell Cooperative Extension and recently served and aquatic sciences, Department of Natural for six years as the natural resources specialist for Resources, Cornell University, first came to J the South Central New York Extension Agriculture CNew York as an undergraduate student at Cornell Team. He received a bachelor’s degree in cell biology University in the early 1970s, then returned to his from the University of Rochester and a master’s degree native Midwest to earn master’s and doctoral degrees in natural resources and rural landscape planning from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dur- from the University of Michigan. He has worked for ing his seventeen years as a program manager for the Cornell Cooperative Extension for ten years, focusing University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, Kraft was on agriculture and natural resources issues. Jim has engaged in diverse research and extension efforts related consulted with hundreds of pond owners throughout to managing fisheries in waters as large as the Great New York State and has reviewed and authored several Lakes and as small as rural ponds. He has also been Cornell Cooperative Extension bulletins on challenges actively involved in research and extension work on ranging from pond structure development and weed zebra mussels. In 1998 Kraft returned to New York to eradication to commercial farm pond management. join the faculty at Cornell University and conduct stud- ies of coldwater fisheries throughout North America. ryan swistock is a Senior Extension Associate He currently directs Cornell University’s Little Moose in the College of Agricultural Sciences, School Field Station near Old Forge, New York. of Forest Resources, at Penn State University. BHe received a bachelor’s degree in environmental ebecca schneider, associate professor and health from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and leader, Department of Natural Resources a master’s degree in environmental pollution control Extension, Cornell University, joined the De- from Penn State University. For the past twenty years Rpartment in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree from Loyola he has conducted research, teaching, and extension College, a master’s degree from University of Virginia, programs on water resources issues throughout Penn- and a doctoral degree from Cornell University. She sylvania. Bryan currently organizes and presents pond leads an integrated research, extension, and teaching and lake management workshops and is a co-teacher program that focuses on the eco-hydrologic basis for for an online pond management course through Penn sustainable water resource management. Her current State University. He has also authored dozens of pond research includes roadside ditch impacts on stream management fact sheets and publications through health and stream networks in central New York Penn State Cooperative Extension. watersheds; groundwater discharge processes along lake shorelines; evapotranspiration and groundwater linkages in wetlands; and plant influences on stream bank erosion. v vi This page is from The Pond Guidebook, NRAES-178. To purchase the book, visit www.nraes.org, or call (607) 255-7654. Page 1 of this PDF has fair use information. Foreword onstructed ponds are a captivating combi- nation of engineering, water flow, biology, aes- thetics, and recreation. Hundreds of thousands Cof ponds of all shapes and sizes dot the rural landscape of the United States. Look at any aerial photograph of the countryside, and you will begin to note all the dif- ferent places water is impounded for private use and management. From personally dug ponds of a few hundred square feet, to major construction projects of three or four acres (beyond which