The Steel Valley Outdoors Future: 10 Things That Will Happen in the Next Decade

By Lou Yuhasz on December 19th, 2009

Berlin Lake and Dam on the Mahoning River in M...
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There’s lots of end of decade lists floating around now so, without further ado, Here’s my Predictions for the next decade:

  1. You Will Pay to access the outdoors- Sorry. It’s just too lucrative a tax base to pass up. Already, Ohio is one of only seven states not to charge access to State Parks. Hunting Licenses, Watercraft registration, camp fees, private vendors- all these are ways to get you to pay to play in the outdoors. And all these are ways to lower tax rates for those who don’t use the State’s resources.
  2. Mill Creek Park will have a climbing area- With a changing population, Mill Creek Park will have to keep up. Flad Mountain at YSU is slowly creating a community of climbers in the area. And with good outdoor areas at Logtown Quarry or West Virginia a good drive away, It only makes sense to open the area at Pioneer pavilion to climbers.
  3. There will be a Commuter Bike Path to the Downtown Tech Corridor-as Above, the park district will have to acknowledge the growing green movement and provide a way for commuters to get to their jobs on bike.  Personally, I would like to see roads along Newport Lake closed to  car traffic. Imagine parking on 224 and biking to Mahoning Avenue or Glenwood and then into Downtown. Most of the right-of-way is already there. Or maybe the Southern Blvd. rail could finally be turned into greenspace- we lost that battle once before.
  4. The Garden District will be the center of a Gentrified Youngstown- There’s a lot of blogging going on on the revitalization of the Garden District. Tying this into a modern, responsive park District and a local Tech Corridor seems to be  the way things will play out over the next few years. There just seems to be Synchronicity in these projects that feed off each other.
  5. Mosquito Creek Will be renamed- They lost the last battle. but this war will be won. there’s just too much at stake. Who wants to  resort or vacation at the Mosquito Inn at Mosquito Golf Course? See Number 1 above: Can’t charge for the Mosquito Name.
  6. Hunters will be seen in the same light as Renaisance Faire Folks- The Number of hunters continue to dwindle. Soon, they will be seen as a quaint holdout of a bygone  era. like the Amish- They will be appreciated for holding onto their beliefs int he modern era.
  7. The North Country Trail will be mostly Finished- The North Country Trail is growing by leaps and bounds. As the Economy recovers, more and more people will be looking for an opportunity to do something different. this gives them the chance to traverse the country in a different way. Just like the Appalachian Trail, the sense of history and the stories that will be told will leak out to an appreciative audience, causing this local gem to flourish.
  8. The docks at the B&O will actually be used by Kayakers thirsty for a beer- You Ever see them?  I truly believe that Rust Belt Brewing has the right combination of perseverence, quality, and vision to make it at the B&O. Also, Kayaking is up statewide. Coupled with the efforts of the Mahoning River Consortium to bring back recreational use of the Mahoning River, you have the perfect Puit-in, take-out spot.
  9. RVs and trailer parks will have a rebirth- Abd Now, the strangest, most outlandish prediction- Alternative fuels and Telecommuting will lead to a resurgence of the mobile lifestyle. No longer for retirees, RV’s will make a comeback as internet workers decide that  being tied to a mortgage is no where near as interesting as being able to constantly move about the country.
  10. Steel Valley Outdoors Will be here.- More of a promise. I have fun Blogging this. I’ll be here, posting releases, interviews and ads, trying to turn this hobby into a business for quite some time to come.
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2 Responses to “The Steel Valley Outdoors Future: 10 Things That Will Happen in the Next Decade”

  1. Mike Prelee says:
    December 20, 2009 at 6:16 PM

    I predict the fish in the Mahoning River will become edible. Either they will be detoxified enough or our tolerance for pollution will increase.