Restoring existing ponds

How do you clean out older ponds that have filled in and how to you best use the dredgings in an existing system?

I have several of these on my property. They are old beaver dam ponds. A couple that I have been working on ,I have been digging out a small area in the dam and letting the water carry the soil to a lower dam that I want to fill in. Helping the water by shoveling and rerouting the flow of water. I have a couple other spots that have less water flow and I am thinking of just digging them out with my backhoe. Using the soil for hugals.

Older, filled in ponds provide an excellent soil amendment. The pond can be cleaned out with a digger and this choice material should be set aside until the very end. Once your other earthworks are complete this material can be scattered on top as an excellent soil amendment. It can also be used in gardens, on trees, or any where else you wish to improve the soil.

When water is in deep narrow creeks it is cold and dense. This kind of water carries material, such as silt and organic matter. When the water reaches the wide plane of a pond or other water basin the water warms and unwinds. This causes the water to drop whatever sediment it is carrying. Water gathers humus, organic matter, and silt from the narrow creeks and deposits it in the ponds. Additionally, water is the most productive growing medium. The Algae - Zoe-plankton systems that develop in natural ponds are the fastest generators of soil on the planet.

Judith, Johnny, Zach, and Team HolzerAgroEcology