Vermont and Ted Riehle Hate Billboards.

The State of Vermont is celebrating 40 years of NO BILLBOARDS.

Their revolutionary billboard law (passed in 1968) prohibits outdoor ads in that state to override the bucolc mountains and pristine fauna that gives it the name of ----- The Green Mountain State.

This is a true testament of the work of one dedicated lawmaker -- and how he made a difference.

Ted Riehle, a state legislator, and a very interesting guy -- somehow convinced the state that it could benefit both aesthetically and fiscally by taking billboards down that had already been placed and banning any / all new ones fromm going up.

Riehl died on New Year's Eve 2007 at the age of 83. His obituary can be found at: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801050325

What he accomplished was quite a feat when you stop to consider that (A) he was only in his second year in the Legislature in the late 1960s when he started drumming up support across Vermont to get buy in on his novel idea. His Son said he was fervent about his mission, even when threatened and challenged.

Riehle had a nice run in the State legislature and then went on to work as planning director for Gov. Deane Davis, coordinating the state's first Green Up Day program, which has become a model program for roadside cleanup.

You must also consider that (B) that Vermont had many farmers who made a decent supplemental income from renting their farmlands to billboard companies and that Riehle had to presuade them to let this go for the greater good.

Acccording to Wikipedia: Vermont ranks 45th by total area, and 43rd by land area at 9,250 square miles (24,000 km²), and has a population of 608,827, making it the second least populous state (second only to Wyoming). The only New England state with no coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, Vermont is notable for the Green Mountains in the west and Lake Champlain in the northwest.

Originally inhabited by Native American tribes (Abenaki, and Iroquois), the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by France but became a British possession after France's defeat in the French and Indian War. For many years, control of the area was disputed by the surrounding colonies, notably between New Hampshire and New York. Settlers who held land titles granted by these colonies were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, which eventually prevailed in creating an independent state. Vermont became the 14th state to join the United States, following a 14-year period during and after the Revolutionary War as the independent Vermont Republic.

And, you won't see any billbaords there --- Thanks to Ted Riehle.