Scenic America estimates the nationwide total of cities and communities prohibiting the construction of new billboards to be at least 1500.
States Prohibiting All Billboards
- Vermont – Removed all billboards in 1970s
- Hawaii – Removed all billboards in 1920s
- Maine – Removed all billboards in 1970s and early 80s
- Alaska – State referendum passed in 1998 prohibits billboards
Scenic America recognizes Vermont’s 40 billboard-free years, remembers Ted Riehle Jr.
2008 marks 40 years since Vermont became billboard-free. Click here to read and listen to a retrospective of the passage of the original bill, put together by Vermont Public Radio.
December saw the passing of Ted Riehle Jr., the driving force behind the law which banned all billboards in Vermont. Riehle was a visionary; the law, passed in 1968, made Vermont the first state in the continental U.S. to rid itself of billboards.
It wasn’t easy to convince everyone in Vermont that banning billboards would be a good thing. Riehle believed believed strongly, though, that Vermont would benefit financially and aesthetically by taking billboards down and banning new ones.
Time has proven him right, as tourism to Vermont has increased and visitors often cite the state’s natural beauty as their number one reason for visiting. Click here to read a rememberance of Riehle from the Burlington Free Press and here from the Rutland Herald.