History of Scenic Nevada

cenic Nevada is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the scenic character of Nevada. The following chronological events are some of our many positive accomplishments and some of the obstacles we have encountered since our inception.

• Doug Smith, President of Scenic Nevada receives the 2004 Pinecone Award
• Neal Cobb receives W. Clark Santini Cup Award 2004



• Doug Smith receives W. Clark Santini Cup Award 2002



• A grassroots, volunteer organization called "Citizens for a Scenic Reno" formed on January 20, 2000.
  
  
• Citizens for a Scenic Reno filed nonprofit articles of incorporation with the Secretary of States' office on March 27, 2000.
  
  
• Citizens for a Scenic Reno filed an Initiative Petition with the Reno City Clerk on March 29, 2000 which stated: "Initiative Petition: Off-premise advertising displays/billboards in the City of Reno are prohibited, and the City of Reno may not issue permits for their construction".
  
  
• The Reno Billboard Industry filed a "dueling" Initiative Petition drive on June 26, 2000 which stated: "Initiative Petition: Off-Premise Advertising Displays (billboards) in the City of Reno shall only be permitted on property zoned commercial and industrial".
  
  
• On July 29, 2000, the Reno Billboard Industry withdrew their Initiative Petition circulation stating: "the dueling petition drive confused voters. The group will now concentrate its' efforts on defeating the referendum".
  
  
• Citizens for a Scenic Reno circulated 9,561 raw count signatures in Reno by July 25, 2000 with 7,381 valid signatures. CFASR needed 6,790 signatures (15% of the vote's cast in the last citywide election) so therefor we had 951 valid signatures to spare.
  
  
• The Billboard Industry filed a SLAPP (Strategic Litigation against Public Participation) lawsuit against the City of Reno and Citizens for a Scenic Reno on August 24, 2000 for a writ of mandamus to remove the initiative from consideration on the ballot of the upcoming general election.
  
  
• In Judge Poloha's Second Judicial District Court, of the State of Nevada, on October 14, 2000 the court ruled the City of Reno substantially complied with the statutes involved and that the petition had been properly and legally certified as sufficient.
  
  

• Scenic America presented the Stafford Award to Citizens for a Scenic Reno for telling the billboard industry "Enough is Enough - No More Billboard Blight in the City of Reno" on October 23, 2001. Scenic America's Stafford Award, first presented in 1988, is named for Senator Robert T. Stafford, who was a Congressional leader in fighting for billboard control, scenic resource conservation, and environmental protection.
• On November 7, 2000 57,782 registered Reno voters voted Yes by 57% (32,765) and No by 43% (25,017) on the Billboard Ballot Question R-1.
  
  
• Citizens for a Scenic Reno spent $3,221.00 for passage of Billboard Ballot Question R-1 and "Nevadans to Save Jobs and Fight Extremism" (AKA Eller Media and the Billboard Industry) spent $226,823.00. We spent $.09 per Yes vote and the Billboard Industry spent $9.06 per No vote. In other words, we were outspent by a ratio of 70 to 1 by Eller Media (and still won).
  
  
• The 2001 Nevada Legislature enacted SB 265 introduced by the Nevada Outdoor Media Association (NOMA), which limits local control of billboards by denying amortization.
  
  
• Citizens for a Scenic Reno changed their name to Citizens for a Scenic Northern Nevada (CFASNN) on June 8, 2001 in order to enlarge their sphere of influence. At that time, CFASNN represented the northern half of Nevada, which includes 12 out of Nevada's 17 counties.
  
  
• In September 2002, Citizens for A Scenic Northern Nevada changed its name to Scenic Nevada and expanded its focus statewide.
  
  
• Scenic Nevada met with Nevada's Congressional delegation regarding the Highway Beautification Act, a broken law as it seeks to allow billboard proliferation.
  
  
• Scenic Nevada participated in an Adopt-a-Highway Litter Control sponsorship along the Mt. Rose National Scenic Byway (S.R. 431).
  
  
• The Billboard Industry filed an appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court and on Dec. 17, 2002 the high court ruled the billboard petition was legislative in character and a proper subject for an initiative petition. The court added the billboard initiative didn't involve a specific project and instead enacts a citywide change in policy towards off-premise advertising.
  
  
• On January 6, 2003 the billboard industry filed a Petition for Rehearing with the Nevada Supreme Court.
  
  
• On February 6, 2003 the Nevada Supreme Court issued an Order Deying Rehearing.
  
  
• Scenic Nevada cosponsored a town hall meeting with U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-NV, and other community organizations and met with Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, who has been an advocate for quality of life issues and is known as the "Johnny Appleseed of Livability."
  
  
• Marilyn Melton donated the proceeds from the sale of her original illustrated art work from the book "You Know You're A Nevadan If..." to Scenic Nevada.
  
  
• Marilyn Melton prints Scenic Nevada Note Cards from her original oil paintings of Native American life and depictions of scenery to assist Scenic Nevada in fundraising.
  
  
• Sunny Minedew of SunProductions in Reno creates Scenic Nevada, the documentary. Approximately 25 minutes long, Scenic Nevada features interviews with many members of Scenic Nevada as they discuss the scenic character of Nevada and the problems they face. This video presentation is available to schools and libraries and interested parties. To learn more about this video, please click here.