POND CLINIC, Thursday, June 9th @ 6PM

Thursday evening June 9th at 6PM, the Guernsey SWCDin partnership with Noble SWCD and the Guernsey/Noble OSU Extension will hold a pond clinic. The clinic will be held at the Eastern Ohio Research Station near Belle Valley. The topics to be discussed include aquatic weed control, stocking rates, pest control, Wildlife habitat enhancement, and design and construction of ponds. A special fish eletro-shocking demonstration will be put on by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Cliff Little, OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resource agent for Guernsey County will explain the available chemical and natural controls for unwanted vegetation in your pond. He will also cover the topic of stocking rates for ponds including types and numbers of fish to include in a new pond. The most popular species for this area include bass, bluegill, channel catfish, and shell crackers.

Joe Lehman, Wildlife Specialist for the Guernsey Soil and Water Conservation District, will speak on the topic of animal control around ponds. The two most devastating animals to a pond are muskrats and beavers. Muskrats can dig holes in the dam and cause the pond to leak and beavers may plug up overflows and emergency spillways. Joe will present ways and ideas to discourage these trouble makers and effective means to lessen the damage caused. Other pests to be discussed are crawdads, geese, and snapping turtles.

Van Slack, technician for Guernsey SWCD; and Jim Mizik of the Noble SWCD will speak on the topics of pond design and construction. There is more to building a pond than just digging a hole. Items such as soil type in the area, size of the watershed, and surface area of pond are all important considerations. Construction issues include a core trench for the dam, size of overflow, and size and location of the emergency spillway. Ponds and lakes may also require a permit through the ODNR Division of Water because of location and size.

The ODNR staff will demonstrate electro-shocking, a way to immobilize fish so that they can be captured and studied without harming them.

A pond can be a useful resource for human or animal use, but in building and maintaining a pond it entails a lot of planning and responsibility. For more information,directions and to register for this clinic, please contact the Guernsey SWCD at (740)432-5624. There is no charge for this event, but we do need to know how many plan to attend.