Scenic America

Having the nationwide strength and identity of the Scenic America brand solidly behind each affiliate can leverage extraordinary opportunities. In particular, it will facilitate the generation of revenue from local philanthropic sources. Affiliates can draw upon and benefit from the fundraising expertise of the national office without having to expend vital and already limited resources. With the hub supporting the spokes, the result will be a more vibrant and robust organization protecting the scenic beauty of America. Scenic America combines policy expertise with effective advocacy and communications. Our advocacy work includes direct lobbying and mobilizing grassroots and grasstops supporters. One of the key technologies Scenic America employs in our communication strategy is state-of-the-art constituent relationship management (CRM) software, a tool that will allow us to communicate in fast and powerful ways with our supporters, funders, public officials and the media.

We have a visionary Board of Directors that wrote a 44-page policy paper, "Taking the Long View: A Proposal for Realizing America the Beautiful." This important document lays out the next decades on progress that should be made regarding scenic beauty. We also have very talented staff. Mark Falzone was selected to serve as President of Scenic America in April 2017. Prior to Scenic America, he served as Deputy Director of the National Immigration Forum, and before that was a five-term elected member of the House of Representatives in Massachusetts. As a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures he was twice elected to the Executive Committee. Mark holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College and a Master of Public Administration degree from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. Since Mr. Falzone came aboard to lead Scenic America, we have successfully (and rapidly) leveraged our assets to bring policy change to Capitol Hill. In a time of divided and gridlock in Washington, D.C., Scenic America was able to work on a bipartisan basis to author legislation that was signed into law by the president in 2019.

Organizationally, we have clear goals set in a Board-approved five year strategic plan. Additionally, the Board sets annual goals for the organization. In turn, the President creates a work plan that guides the organization's day-to-day work that aligns with the strategic plan and annual goals. Every year we evaluate ourselves to be sure we are meeting annual goals and accomplishing items in the strategic plan.

Stopped the construction of thousands of billboards around the country. Providing technical assistance to tens of thousands of citizens, community groups and public officials across America. Helped to establish the National Scenic Byway Program, which has resulted in the designation of 150 roads and 25,000 miles of scenic byways. Our recent victories include the presidential signing of the “Reviving America’s Scenic Byways Act of 2019,” which reopens the nomination process for National Scenic Byways. This is a major victory, the first time our organization has shepherded a bill from its writing, through passage in Congress, to presidential signing and enactment as law. Scenic advocates in the Houston business community convinced city officials to pass a ban on new billboards in 1980. Since that time the city has gone from 15,000 billboards to fewer than 1,500. Other select accomplishments: We helped establish the Journey Through Hallowed Ground encompassing important Civil War sites throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Developed 51 state and local affiliates around the country. Scenic Philadelphia commissioned a study which found that homes in that city within 500 feet of a billboard are worth $31,000 less on average than those further away, and each additional billboard within a census tract reduced home values by nearly $1,000. Helping to stop new billboard construction in more than 1,000 communities nationwide.