Scenic Utah - Keep Utah Beautiful

Why Scenic Utah?

Scenic Utah launched in 2018 as a bold statewide effort to reduce visual pollution, reclaim our vanishing vistas, and encourage action to protect Utah’s beloved and globally renowned scenery. We are a 501(c)(3) working to focus policy attention on the visual environment, encourage civic engagement, and promote change through education, advocacy, and accountability.

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gateway

freeway

moab

southern utah

spanish fork

melting billboard

What's the Deal with Billboards?

The outdoor advertising industry brags that billboards are the one medium you can’t turn off. But a majority of Utahns wish they could. Turns out, 75% of Utahns agree that billboards are an eyesore in our communities. With such broad consensus on an issue like this, you’d think limiting their proliferation—and removing them where they’re no longer wanted—should be a community’s prerogative. But the billboard lobby is powerful and persuasive. Over many years, Utah has passed a range of laws that pre-empt local governments’ ability to control outdoor advertising, with far-reaching negative economic and social impacts.

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Other Issues

Beyond billboards, we keep our eyes on other ‘scenic preservation’ issues.

National Scenic Byways designations recognize roads across the U.S. that exhibit scenic, natural, historic, recreational, archaeological, and/or cultural qualities.

Scenic Byways & Backways

Utah, renowned for its breathtaking natural landscapes, boasts some of the darkest and most pristine night skies in the United States.

Night Skies & Light Pollution

Small towns and cities adjacent to Utah’s national parks and public lands face unique challenges in preserving their scenic beauty and heritage.

Gateway Communities

The issue of whether to bury high-voltage transmission lines and smaller distribution cables centers not only on health, safety, and maintenance, but also on aesthetics and property values.

Undergrounding Utilities

Scenic Viewpoint

Deciding the Right Digital Exchange Ratio

July 30th 2024

Outdoor advertising companies across the country are cajoling and enticing communities to allow conversion of static billboards to digital formats. To...

Buy one, Buy ‘em All

November 1st 2023

Thanks to state laws, removing a billboard in Utah is nearly impossible. Utah billboard owners demand huge ‘just compensation’ payments for buying out...

Weeding Out Billboards

October 1st 2023

With deep roots in the past, a modern-day billboard campaign in Orem targets advertisers. In the 1920s, a group of women’s associations, including...

Support & Advocate

Donations support research, outreach, education and advocacy efforts of our small staff and many hard-working volunteers. With your help, we’re building a coalition of Utahns and visitors who treasure our shared scenic resources and believe they should be protected.

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