After 18 years of continuous coverage of the U.S. National Park System and the National Park Service, and the issues relating to them —Essential Coverage for Essential Places— the National Park Traveler will go dark after December 31, 2023.
Since 2005 Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor-in-chief of the Traveler, and the news organization’s contributing writers, photographers, and broadcasters have visited parks across the United States and Canada to dive into the heart of stories big and small. We've brought you stories ranging from search-and-rescue operations, climate-change impacts on the parks, and over-crowding issues to questionable institutional decision-making, land-management conflicts, and how to make the most out of your national park adventures.
The Traveler has exposed the woes of underfunded park operations, examined how prospecting for oil has damaged Big Cypress National Preserve, illustrated the threats of invasive species to the parks and the successes the National Park Service has had combatting them, and shone some much-needed light on smaller units of the park system and their wonders.
It is not that the Traveler wants to cease reporting; rather, it is that we have been unable to raise the support necessary to hire and retain both the editorial, fundraising, and support staff and services necessary to run an editorially independent nonprofit news operation. However, if another organization would like to take this on, we would be glad to talk to them.
In 2023 alone, we have had more than 1.5 million readers as readership has jumped 43 percent over 2022 levels, and our popular weekly podcast series has seen nearly 700,000 downloads since 2019, yet not enough followers made the decision to support the Traveler — nowhere near enough to cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed annually to fund newsgathering and other operational costs.
To those who have supported us, you have our deepest thanks and appreciation. We are not undertaking a fall fundraising campaign for individual donors or pleading with you to keep the lights on. We have tried that many times, and it did not work.
On behalf of the board of the National Parks Traveler, we wish you all the best and hope that you will keep an eye on the parks even as the Traveler cannot without more substantial, and reliable, support.
Comments
To Kurt and the entire staff, many thanks for your valuable coverage! Everyone's hard work is greatly appreciated and will be missed.
"However, if another organization would like to take this on, we would be glad to talk to them."
Well lets hope someone fills the gap.
Recommend any other independent National Park coverage site or pod cast?
It's not the same at all, but I highly recommend the Dear Bob and Sue podcast. It's a married couple talking about visiting the national parks.
Very sorry to hear this Kurt. You provided a very valuable service to the community. Didn't always agree with your point of view but always felt you addressed the subjects and our disagreements fairly. Best of luck in your future endeavors. I am sure there is a place that can benefit from your talents.
I would rather see pop up ads then lose you
Thanks for the Herculean effort over the past two decades!
is there anything we can do to help? I love everything about the Traveler, it's so important. if this is the end, thank you so much for everything <3
As a recent new donor to this site, I am gutted to hear this news. NPT has been a staple of my morning news readings for a couple of years now, and I hate to see it go.
Can you clarify whether what is meant by lights out? Does this just mean that there will be no more updates, or does it also mean that the site itself will no longer be live? I would hate to lose access to the wealth of knowledge contained in this site's archives, and if that's a possibility I would wonder if there's anything we can do as a community to keep this site live for the forseeable future.