This month marks the 50th anniversary of Edward Abbey’s seminal novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang, first published on August 1, 1975. The book was foundational to the modern scenic preservation movement, inspiring grassroots campaigns across the country to reclaim scenic beauty and stop the destruction of our open lands and vistas.
The novel follows a group of eccentric environmentalists who carry out audacious acts against what they see as the forces destroying the natural beauty of the American West. One of their first—and most iconic—targets is billboards along desert highways, which they see as the very symbol of visual pollution and unchecked commercialism.
Our gang of volunteers and staff here at Scenic Utah shares Abbey’s passion for eliminating visual pollution, but we take a more measured approach than Doc, Bonnie, Hayduke, and Seldom Seen. As much as we appreciate the monkey-wrench spirit and occasional splashy headline, our mission is grounded in evidence-based advocacy, policy engagement, and community partnerships—all aimed at protecting Utah’s spectacular vistas.
Here are a few of the Scenic Utah Gang’s recent ‘audacious’ acts:
- Since the legislative session ended in March, we’ve met with dozens of local governments and individuals who seek our guidance on navigating Utah’s dizzying outdoor advertising laws and strategies for improving their local sign ordinances.
- We’ve filed multiple complaints to UDOT and the Federal Highway Administration about billboards that clearly violate federal sign regulations.
- Our whip-smart volunteers and legal interns have been researching billboard case law, federal sign regulations, state billboard statutes, and the impacts of HB198—a 2025 billboard-friendly bill related to relocating signs. Turns out, Utah taxpayers are footing the bill to both relocate AND REMODEL billboards on state and federal roads. Only in Utah can sign owners take a 1970s-era rickety sign, move it to a new spot, make it bigger, taller, and brighter, and send their invoice straight to UDOT. In one case, we taxpayers paid more than $300,000 to relocate and rebuild a single billboard! (Stay tuned: we’ll be sharing more about these windfall subsidies our state is providing to billboard companies.)
We know there are powerful players who see Scenic Utah as a small gang of troublemakers. But if gathering evidence and sharing it publicly, holding government accountable, defending the views of a majority of Utahns, and standing up to an industry that puts profit over public interest earns us that label, then we’ll wear it proudly.
Photo Credit: "Found Collage" by Chad Martinez, 2024 Scenic Utah Photo Contest Winner (Billboard Blunders)