Branch Park Pond gets thorough makeover to improve habitat for fish Published July 13, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- If you've been to the pond at Branch Park lately, you're probably wondering what happened to all the water. That's because Edwards Environmental Management turned off the flow and started draining the pond back in November in preparation for a revitalization project that is currently underway. "About every five years we clean out the pond," said Mark Hagan, an Edwards natural resource manager with Environmental Management. Hagan said the plan for the project is to dig out most of the existing vegetation and plant all new shrubs; install an aerator; restock the fish and refill the pond with fresh water. Workers left just enough water at the far end of the pond for the existing fish to survive. They still have about two to three weeks of digging left to do and currently they are looking at mid- to late August to complete the project. "The project is going a little slower than we hoped," Hagan said. With all the work that's left to bring the pond up to base standards, Hagan said they could use five to 10 volunteers to help accomplish the work. Although the pond has not been officially closed during the renovation project, Hagan hopes fishing enthusiasts will go elsewhere for their catch of the day until the makeover is complete. "I highly recommend people don't fish at the pond until the project is completed," Hagan said. Anyone interested in volunteering his or her services to help with the cleanup project should call Hagan at 277-1418. Branch Memorial Park and pond were named in honor of Major General Irving L. Branch who was killed when the T-38 he was flying crashed near Seattle in 1951. Branch was commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center at the time.