The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Dec. 9 presented a plan to restore an oxbow at Duke Park that the agency says will improve fish and bird habitat, provide floodplain benefits and reduce long-term maintenance demands.

Donnie Knight of the Fish and Wildlife Service told the Troy Board of Park Commissioners the project — described in the presentation as the Duke Park Temba Oxbow Restoration — would excavate a roughly 14-acre basin near the Spring Creek confluence to reconnect off‑channel habitat and create meandering channels, seasonal wetlands and permanent pools for fish. “We’re looking at around 480,000,” Knight said when discussing the project budget, noting the grant funding has been accepted through the H2Ohio Rivers initiative.

Knight explained the ecological goals during a slide presentation: sediment and nutrient trapping during floods, reduced flood energy, improved fish spawning and migratory bird stopover habitat, plus recreational and wildlife‑viewing opportunities. He said the work is an extension of earlier H2Ohio-funded restoration at Spring Creek and that the Fish and Wildlife Service will lead design, construction oversight and permitting, with engineering support from a private consultant.

On costs and city obligations Knight said the H2Ohio Rivers initiative would fund the project and the city of Troy was not being asked for additional financial input. The Fish and Wildlife Service will provide oversight and the city would be asked to assist with grant financial reporting and routine follow-up and maintenance tasks. Knight said most federal and agency permitting (including Army Corps and EPA processes) has been completed; the remaining items include a historic‑preservation follow‑up and a law‑director review of the draft contract before the board takes final action.

Board members asked how the restoration would affect existing mountain‑bike trails and pedestrian access. Knight and staff said trails could be realigned rather than eliminated, emergency access would be preserved (planned box culvert or low‑water crossing), and volunteers who manage trails have been consulted; the design aims to reduce invasive‑species maintenance over time. In response to a question about dam removal and river‑level changes, Knight said modeling shows the oxbow connections are not at the ordinary high‑water mark and are not expected to be negatively impacted; if anything the reconnection adds flood storage.

Knight said a contract draft exists and that, once city reviews are complete, funds and reimbursements will be set up and on‑the‑ground work can proceed. The board did not vote to authorize construction at the Dec. 9 meeting; Knight asked the board to review the draft and return comments after the law director’s review.

The board thanked Knight and asked staff to coordinate the contract review and next steps. The parks board later moved to executive session on an unrelated personnel matter.