Billy,
Nice looking pond. It will look incredible when it fills and everything turns green again.
From the picture, it looks like you have a couple of oaks that will be in the water when it fills. Is that right?
Are you worried about the roots rotting and the tree dying from being in the water? My concern was that they would die and then I'd have a dead tree to deal with, or it would fall over and be additional work down the road.
I cleared everything back from my shorline for that reason, and to cut down on the leaves as much as possible. I have one tree that will be along the shore, and it's a huge old cottonwood. They grow in creekbeds, so I'm hopeful I didn't screw up by leaving it in.
Eddie