Politics · United States · 1 hr ago
Scenic America president urges limits on highway billboards and tree clearing
Scenic America president Mark Falzone is campaigning against highway billboards in the United States, saying they distract drivers and spoil scenic views.
Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont have banned billboards, while other states allow them.
Vermont was the first to ban them, in 1968, and the bans in Alaska and Hawaii date from before they became states.
Florida has more than 32,000 permitted billboards, the highest number listed by Scenic America.
Falzone also objects to rules that let billboard companies cut down taxpayer-funded trees near signs, saying the trees help reduce noise, runoff and pollution.
Scenic America argues that advertising is widely available on smartphones and that preserving natural beauty should matter more.
The group is also seeking to stop the removal of state-owned trees for billboard visibility, but no next steps are specified.
Scenic America president Mark Falzone is urging limits on highway billboards and the cutting of state-owned trees to make signs more visible.
Falzone says billboards distract drivers and obscure scenic views, while trees also provide sound barriers and help manage runoff and pollution.
He argues that preserving natural beauty matters more because people now receive much of their advertising on smartphones.
Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont have banned billboards, according to the article.
Florida has the most Department of Transportation-permitted billboards, with more than 32,000, Scenic America says.
- Who
- Mark Falzone, president of Scenic America, is urging limits.
- What
- He is calling for limits on highway billboards and on billboard companies cutting down state-owned trees.
- When
- The article was published on November 15, 2026.
- Where
- The United States, including highways and roadside areas.
- Why
- Falzone says billboards distract drivers and block scenic views, and that roadside trees have practical benefits.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Vermont became the first state to ban billboards.
Maine followed with a billboard ban, according to The Boston Globe.
The Daily Mail published Falzone’s call for limits on billboards and tree clearing.
- Scenic America president
- Mark Falzone
- Billboard ban
- Alaska, Hawaii, Maine and Vermont
- Florida billboards
- More than 32,000 DOT-permitted signs
- Texas billboards
- Around 24,000 DOT-permitted signs
- First state ban
- Vermont, 1968
What people are saying
We can choose to not have billboard blight in our lives
It's a distraction
It makes no sense