Ugly Sign of the Times

Frequent Photo

On a unspoiled ridge top, a quiet dirt road meanders through a meadow thick with grass.  A spectacular view allows a driver or hiker  to see nearly halfway across California—from the fog on the coast to the golden ridges of the Yolla Bollies.  The only hint of  human habitation is the road and a neighbor’s gate discretely tucked into the hillside-at least until today.  Save the Redwoods recently purchased a piece of property there and the community was delighted.  What better neighbor than an environmental organization.  What a great fit for our nature loving community.

But something has gone terribly wrong.  The League put up an ugly billboard.  For a neighborhood, in which there are no street signs, such a large garish construction makes a mockery of the League’s environmental goals.

“Change is inevitable.  Ugliness is not.”  Scenic America, an organization dedicated to preserving open spaces and curtailing the use of billboards, chose this as their motto.  They say,

Attractive communities and unspoiled scenic vistas are critical to our quality of life. Both encourage us to appreciate and maintain beauty and the natural environment.

Each new billboard that is constructed tarnishes our communities and despoils our countryside. Moreover, each new billboard reinforces the perception that ugliness is the price of progress — that our quality of life depends on destroying the very resources we most value. This false choice serves only those who benefit from blight, and it encourages us to accept the destruction of all scenic, environmental, and historic resources…

Save the Redwoods League will agree when they’ve thought about the visual blight they’ve added to a space dedicated to natural beauty. Take a moment and call the League and ask them to reconsider their action. When they realize what they’ve done,  they will surely remove the sign.

E-mail: info@savetheredwoods.org

Save the Redwoods League

114 Sansome Street, Suite 1200

San Francisco, CA 94104-3823

Telephone: (415) 362-2352

Toll Free: (888) 836-0005

Fax: (415) 362-7017

Sadly, we as a society have become so inured to the ugliness of billboards encroaching on our views that one of our most venerable environmental organizations— dedicated to preserving natural beauty— put a large sign up oblivious to the irony and the ugliness! Please help us help them realize what they’ve done.