Oregon Roadside Council

The Oregon Roadside Council was dedicated to conserving and enhancing the native beauty of Oregon's roadsides, primarily through the control of billboard advertising.

The Oregon Roadside Council (ORC) is “… an organization dedicated to the preservation of Natural Scenic Beauty along Oregon’s highways and beautification where such is needed.” [Oregon Roadside Council brochure, 1973] The Council was founded in October, 1932, with Mrs. Jessie M. Honeyman as president.

The goals and objectives of the ORC are: to maintain a central organization for individual and group effort toward the preservation and conservation of Oregon’s great asset, her scenic beauty; and to affect such legislation as will permanently protect the natural scene along the highways of Oregon and to cooperate with other agencies that have similar objectives.

Some of the Council’s achievements include the preservation of roadside forests and scenic areas (for example, the Van Duzer and Larch Mountain forest corridors); the creation of more State and County parks; helping to create the Columbia Gorge Commission; passage of the Billboard Control Act of 1955 which regulated to a degree the spacing and size of signs; aiding in the passage of state bills to regulate billboards according to the National Standards on sections of the Federal Interstate System; creating the Oregon Scenic Area Board which establishes scenic areas; supporting billboard removal under the Federal Highway Beautification Act; and advocacy for stricter billboard and outdoor signage ordinances for the City of Portland and Multnomah County.

The ORC also cooperated with the Oregon Federation of Garden Clubs in the building and the location of more than 5,000 bird houses on public lands; planted wildflower seed in the Columbia River Gorge; and provided grants to garden clubs for roadside improvements. The Oregon Roadside Council has continuously taken a lead in being vigilant in challenging illegal advertising along the public right-of-way and acts as an “alert” switchboard for roadside desecration.