While taking into account the reasons for the western ponds creation and reasons for maintenance including drainage, aeration and species addition, is the western pond a balanced ecosystem that manages the life that resides in it at an ideal level.
While analyzing the different aspects of this project and of the Western watershed we have found that the cultural and social aspects of the water shed are extremely intriguing due to the fact that that pond was built by humans for human consumption. Unlike the two other watersheds being studied western pond has a very distinct and recent history that our campus holds very dear. To side step the cultural and social aspect of the system and create a mainly science oriented project would display a diminish view of the overall value of the Pond and its watershed. Since the pond is a man made entity we are able to research the social perspectives of why it was built and how it has been utilized over the years, we also hope to shed some light onto what in society drives us to maintain a pond and keep it stalked with fish and birds. We can go farther and look into the some of the rules that pertain to the pond and its surrounding watershed to find out what exactly are the qualities of the pond that are expected to be maintained.
Western has always been a community and we want to delve into what role the pond and watershed has played in that community, we plan to dig into the archives and pull imagery and writings covering what this area has meant to the people that have become close to it over the years. Below we have included a picture taken from the archives that displays what the watershed has brought to the learning community. Thru the cultural look at the pond we would like to look at the different ÒWesternÓ communities and how they interacted with the surrounding area. We would like to know if the pond helped control the Peabody fires and we would like to dig into what type of events western has sponsored surrounding the pond.
We in no way want to avoid the scientific aspects of the project. We plan on looking into the current health of the pond as compared to the record of pond health and biodiversity in the past. We also want to make sure to specifically look at records of pond health from the most recent time it was emptied to present. Has it become more stable and more able to support life? Are the animals that reside in it at an equilibrium with there environment or is stability slowly degrading. We also want to look into aspects of pollution from road run off and entry point pollution which is also mainly road runoff. The main things we want to look into and compare with other times and with pond health standards are PH, Sediment loads, Dissolved O2, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Fecal Coli form. We are also looking into analyzing some aspects of soil health as to understand its capability to absorb water.
We predict that the past management approaches to Western Pond were geared towards creating a homogenous landscape that met the desired goals of its creators. In constructing a man-made pond, which we are assuming was created for aesthetic and recreation purposes, we predict the watershedÕs integrity and naturalness were compromised and its biodiversity lessened. We also predict the pondÕs management has not progressed from the past in that the more recent Western Pond management approaches, like the implementation of aerators and the pondÕs drainage a decade ago, have not served to restore the watershedÕs variability or diverse structure.
We predict that since the migratory waterfowlsÕ wings have been clipped, they would not be at the pond otherwise because its water quality is not ideal. Along the same lines, we predict Western Pond does not provide a well-prepared brood pond, meaning it does not promote the spawn of fish. We expect to see signs of diseased fish (just kidding). We predict the fish will have healthy red gills, but they will significantly below their maximum growth potential. Fish cannot be put into ponds (as they were by Chris and Hays following the pondÕs drainage), left alone, and expected to grow. Successful fish pond operation requires active attention, which we suspect physical facilities does not devote enough time towards.
We will test the pond for current health
We will be organizing a meeting with Curt Ellison as soon as we finish our preliminary interview research.
We will share research with the other western group.
1)What purposes would you say Western Pond served when it was constructed?
Water and Livestock for perhaps:
¥Fish production
¥Field and orchard spraying
¥Fire protection
¥Energy conservation
¥Wildlife habitat
¥Recreation
¥Erosion control
¥Landscape improvement
2)What purposes does it serve today?
3)Would you consider yourself a specialist? What kind? A conservationist? Engineer? Specialist in land use?
4)Are you an environmentalist?
5)Is Western Pond an embankment or an excavated pond?
6)What is the pondÕs main source of water? Surface of groundwater?
7)In Ohio the recommended minimum depth of water for ponds is 6-7 feet deep. How deep is Western Pond?
8)To maintain the required depth and capacity of the pond the inflow must be reasonably free of silt from an eroding watershed. What applications of erosion control do you employ?
9)Does the soil around the pond contain materials (clay, sand, gravel, silt) that make it impervious and thick enough to prevent excessive seepage?
10)How high is the dam? Is it located in an area where it has not damaged commercial, residential, industrial buildings? Has the dam interrupted the use of public utilities? Has it ever resulted in the loss of wildlife?
11)Has the dam ever failed, resulting in the sudden release of water?
12)Is there an adequate supply of water in the pond to be possibly used for fire protection?
13)Has Western Pond increased the landÕs property value by increasing landscape quality?
14)Does drainage from farmsteads, feedlots, sewage lines, etc. reach the pond? Or are there diversions or pipe spillways in place that redirect runoff to appropriate places? Where are those places?
15)Is the approximate size of the drainage area now desirable? Is it suitable for the desired water storage capacity?
16)Why was it necessary to drain the pond a decade ago?
17)What are your thoughts on professors restocking the pond with fish from HarkerÕs Run following the drainage?
18)Why is the pond aerated?
19)Has there ever been the fear of water evaporation during periods of drought due to the size of the drainage area?
20)Do any buried pipelines or cables cross the pond site?
21)What measures are taken to prevent non-point source pollution? (i.e. the trail of oil from the parking lots and buses that runoff into the pond when it rains)
22)Waterfowl, like ducks, often use ponds as feeding, breeding, watering, resting places because there is an ample food supply. So why clip their wings if they would return on their own volition?
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Keep it Hardy- A guide for Pond Care
Pond Management - Pros and Cons of weed controle with grass carp
Three Challenges to River Conservation
Freshwater Fish Restocking Project Extended
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/news/NewsReleases/7563.html
Queensland Government - Department of Primary Industries
31 October 2001
Fish Pond Management
http://www.ai.org/dnr/fishwild/fsmgt/whatfsh.htm
Indiana DNR - Division of Fish and Wildlife
Managing Sport Fish Populations in Farm Ponds
http://www.bagelhole.org/article.php/Water/108/
begelhole.org
WingClipping and the African Grey
http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww25ev.htm
Winged Wisdome Pet Bird Magazine
Watershed and Aquatic Ecosystems
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