Scenic America is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated solely to preserving and enhancing the visual character of America’s communities, countryside and public lands. We believe that beauty is worth fighting for and that our visual heritage is a public resource at risk of vanishing. Each visual intrusion, be it billboard, cell tower, or sprawl development, contributes to a cumulative degradation of our visual environment that separates us from the land that nourishes our soul and from the fundamental character of our communities.
Whether it’s due to ignorance, carelessness, or willful neglect, powerful forces are transforming America the beautiful into America the ugly. Many of these forces run roughshod over the desires of communities and concerned citizens. We believe that communities should identify the landscape characteristics that contribute to their sense of place, to what makes them distinctive. We exist to provide communities and organizations with the methods and tools on how to do this as well as how to sustain that character through a range of governance tools available.
Through national advocacy efforts and technical assistance services on a variety of scenic issues, local and national projects, and the support of its state affiliates, Scenic America is building a national scenic conservation movement aimed at elevating the visual character of our country to an issue of social and electoral significance.
