Well, the first two things that come to mind, that would probably work in your area are both deciduous conifers that might not give the year-round privacy you seek, but I'll suggest anyway:

-Taxodium distichum - Swamp Cypress - more cold hardy than Taxodium ascendens (POND Cypress)
-Some variety of Larix. Often times larch trees grow in bogs and could probably take the poor drainage. I'll defer to the experts as to the best variety. My guess is Larix laricina

A 'green' conifer choice that will give you coverage throughout the year: Picea mariana - black spruce. This puppy grows well in the slow-draining forests in Minnesota and is also common to Michigan. I've got one in my back yard here in an area that is pretty much a swamp all spring and it's been doing well for the 2 years I've had it.

Steg

Thanks, Steg.

We currently have some sort of willow near the pond, but we'd like to stay away from more deciduous if possible.

I'll have to look into the black spruce. We have some blue spruce closer to the house and was hoping for something a bit different, but soil conditions will most likely determine what we plant.

2 good choices for evergreen conifers to try:
- Chamaecyparis thyoides
- Thuja occidentalis

A potential issue is wet, clay soil that may not drain well. I've read that I should perform a drainage test, but haven't done one yet.

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i would suggest you confirm the situation.. prior to limiting yourself to swamp trees ...

are you planting directly in the pond.. or a nearby bog ...

or are you making a presumption.. that it is somewhat boggy around a pond????

nor have you provided much information about the sight blocking you need done ...

nothing wrong with the suggestions made so far ... though a couple are deciduous .... here in MI ...

how about a picture .... ???

cant say we have had an ice fishing aficionado around before.. lol ... welcome to the GW conifer forum ...

ken in adrian MI .. the real SE MI ... lol ...

ps: what if any other trees are near the pond.. it might give us an indication as to how wet it is ... and.. is this a man made pond??? ... perhaps capped in clay.. is the surrounding soil clay. for sure????

Does it flood? I can plant anything about three or four feet from my pond, in hard clay, and it's all good. Only concern would be if it's in an area that floods seasonally.

Ken, thanks for understanding my username! Here are some answers to your questions:

The pond is man made with a clay bottom (according to HOA board). According to original building docs and board members, soil is clay with some gravel. On the other side of pond, there is wetlands/marsh/swamp with deciduous trees growing (not sure what kind -- look a bit trashy). There are a couple of weeping willows around the pond and I have a few river birch in my backyard. I'm planning to plant a few feet from shore. I don't expect it to be flooded unless we have heavy rains. And even then, I'm not sure if it really floods.

I will need to upload a pic to give you a better feel for what I'm dealing with, but thanks for the questions/thoughts.

In addition to those trees already mentioned, balsam fir will tolerate wet feet. More of a northern tree-I don't know where you are-but fairly adaptable.

+oM

Thanks, WT. The Balsam Fir is one tree on my wish list, but wiki shows it only up north. I'm an hour north of Ohio border.

Might still be worth a try. I've seen these things, undoubtedly brought home from "up north", in peoples yards down here in the clay. Still seem to do just fine. Oddly, they never, and I do mean never, show up in forests down here, whereas just a county or two to the north, they are "weed trees", coming up in the ditches and everywhere else.

+oM