Summary of Policies:

Where Scenic America Stands

Introduction

Since 1978, Scenic America has played an active role in shaping attitudes and policies to save America's scenic beauty and distinctive community character.  We help educate members of Congress and their staffs, state and local officials, and ordinary citizens with an extraordinary passion for making sure their special places stay special.  Scenic America's policies are based on positions adopted by our board of directors, guided by our Seven Principles of Scenic Conservation, Strategic Plan, and the education, involvement, and expertise of our members and staff.

Reforming the Highway Beautification Act

Scenic America will work to reform Highway Beautification Act (HBA) to meet its goal of protecting roadside beauty.  Thirty-six years of neglect, billboard-industry-sponsored amendments, and insufficient funding have transformed what was originally hailed as the harbinger of a new conservation movement into a legal and regulatory failure.

State and Local Billboard Control Efforts

Scenic America supports state and local governments in preserving and enhancing the overall scenic environment through billboard and sign control.  Despite limits on billboard control imposed by the federal Highway Beautification Act and some federal court decisions, states and municipalities still have a great deal of power to protect their natural beauty and distinctive character from billboard blight.

Vegetation Control for Improved Billboard Visibility

Scenic America opposes so-called "vegetation control" programs, which permit billboard operators to clear-cut publicly owned trees on public land to improve the visibility of billboards on private land; and we support strong state and federal measures to prohibit this practice.

Context-Sensitive Design

Scenic America promotes context-sensitive design principles for transportation planning.  We will work with all federal, state, and local transportation departments to encourage the adoption of context-sensitive design principles for the purpose of constructing transportation systems that complement the scenic beauty and distinctive community character of the areas they serve.

Transportation Enhancements

Scenic America supports the reauthorization of the Transportation Enhancements Program as authorized under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) to provide continued funding for projects that protect and enhance scenic beauty and community character.  Scenic America opposes any efforts to eliminate or restrict the use of transportation enhancements funding for the purchase and removal of outdoor advertising.

Scenic Byways

Scenic America supports reauthorization of the National Scenic Byways program as structured in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and state programs modeled after this legislation.  Scenic America believes that scenic byways, properly planned and managed, protect America's most scenic places and contribute to strong, environmentally sound economies.  Scenic America opposes segmenting scenic byways for the purpose of billboard construction and other incompatible land uses not planned for in the byway's corridor management plan.  Scenic America also opposes efforts to restrict or eliminate the federal scenic byways program merit-based grant awards through the earmarking of byway funding for specific states or byways.

Scenic Rivers and Trails

Scenic America supports expansion of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers program, the National Historic Trails program, and the National Scenic Trails program.  Scenic America urges activists to include scenic conservation planning principles in local trail and river management plans to ensure consistent protection of vital scenic resources.

Protecting Public Lands

Scenic America supports improving federal and state laws and policies that protect the incredible scenic resources of our public lands.

Protecting Tribal Lands

Scenic America recognizes that many of America's most scenic places are also sacred to Native Americans.  Scenic America supports protecting the visual quality of these sacred places as well as the scenic beauty and distinctive community character of all tribal lands.

Farm Policy

Scenic America recognizes the vital role of America's farmers, ranchers, and foresters in protecting the nation's environment and scenic beauty.  Scenic America supports full funding of farmland conservation programs to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of landowners that want to keep their land productive and beautiful.

Smart Growth

Scenic America supports federal, state, and local measures to foster new development that respects the special character of places; that rebuilds older cities, towns, and suburbs as beautiful places in which to live and work; and that conserves agricultural land and open space.  Scenic America urges state and local governments to incorporate aesthetic guidelines into their smart growth policies and performance standards.

Historic Preservation

Scenic America supports strong federal, state, and local historic preservation policies and legislation, including ordinances which prohibit outdoor advertising in historic districts, mitigate the visual impact of telecommunications facilities and utilities, and establish strict design guidelines for new structures in designated districts.

Community Design and Corporate Responsibility for Place Making

Scenic America supports the efforts of local governments to protect their community distinctiveness by establishing design guidelines for historic, commercial, and residential districts.  Scenic America encourages businesses to design buildings that reflect regional characteristics and use local materials in their construction.  Scenic America also supports efforts to adapt, restore, and reuse historic structures in lieu of new construction.

Telecommunications Towers

Scenic America supports federal legislation giving communities greater power to regulate telecommunications facilities.  Scenic America encourages state and local governments to protect scenic viewsheds and vistas, historic districts, residential neighborhoods, and ridgelines from inappropriate telecommunications facility siting through strong regulatory legislation and siting policies.

Sustained Funding for Conservation

Scenic America supports full funding of federal, state, and local conservation programs, including the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR), and the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) without diminishing funding for other environmental grant programs.

Air Quality

Scenic America supports programs and policies aimed at reducing haze and particulate matter pollution, which obscures scenic views, of our national parks, historic sites, and other natural, scenic, cultural, and historic treasures.

Takings Legislation

Recognizing that private property rights are fundamental to our American system of government and recognizing that, in general, laws and regulations that protect and preserve the environment and our communities contribute to the public good and to the value of private property for the greatest number of people, Scenic America supports our current system of adjudicating takings claims on a case-by-case basis as to the severity of the diminution in value and the appropriateness of the government action is fundamentally fair and sensible.  Scenic America opposes any legislative attempts to establish a mechanistic approach to takings or just compensation determinations or to immediately require the adjudication of alleged takings claims in federal court.

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