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5. SCHEDULE FOR RESTORATION ACTIONS

5.1. Modify the existing outlet structure during fall and winter while maintaining normal water levels in the pond.

5.2. Drain the pond in spring after ice-out and dry the pond bottom soil until it is firm enough to support excavating equipment. Rescue the painted and snapping turtles, maintain some for restocking the pond after it is refilled, and release the rest in suitable habitats on School District property or at other sites approved by the Michigan DNR.

5.3. Dredge and grade the pond bottom in late spring-early summer. Use the dredged soil to elevate the existing island, construct a diked offshore wetland, and elevate and widen the berm at the west end of the pond.

5.4. Begin refilling the pond in mid-to-late summer and begin planting desirable native aquatic and wetland vegetation in the pond and diked offshore wetland, and on the island. Re-vegetate the berm with terrestrial plants to minimize erosion.

5.6. Stock the pond in mid-to-late summer with desirable zooplankton (e.g., Daphnia spp.) and return painted turtles to pond.

5.7. The following spring, stock the pond with a predatory fish species (e.g., largemouth bass fingerlings) to help eliminate any undesirable exotic fishes (e.g., carp and goldfish) that may be illegally introduced into the pond after it is refilled. Also stock adult fathead minnows or golden shiners to establish breeding populations that provide food for wading birds (herons and egrets).

5.8. And finally, throughout the period of restorative action, it would be highly desirable to maintain an accurate chronology of observed events and changes in the pond and its plant and animal communities and to continue regular monitoring of water quality. This information could be posted on the TNCC website and would be very useful in documenting our successes and in developing future management strategies for the pond.