The National Parks Traveler does not build hiking trails or repair washed out footbridges. We don't rehabilitate campgrounds, nor do we conduct science in the National Park System.

Those are the types of projects that often attract funding from foundations and businesses, many of which seek out "boots on the ground" projects to support.

There's no question those are important projects. But just as vital is the role the Traveler plays to keep you informed about how the National Park System is being managed, how the National Park Service is being funded, and how climate change, wildfires, and drought are impacting the parks and your national park experience.

We can't show-off a nicely maintained trail we rehabbed, point to a washed-out footbridge we replaced, or underwrite science in the parks.

But we can bring you information -- factual information -- that is so critical in today's world of misinformation and misdirection. The number of reporters and news outlets that long have brought you that information are becoming an endangered species. Since 2008, about 40,000 newsrooms jobs have been lost due to the shifting of ad revenues to big online entities such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook.

The Traveler's coverage is just as valuable as trail work, and we need your support to continue that daily flow of news and information on national parks and protected areas. So far, our current fundraising campaign has generated just about $71,000 in donations received and pledges made. Our goal by New Year's Eve is at least $100,000 to build on the coverage we've been providing you with.

Over the past year, we've kept you on top of the oil exploration and possible drilling at Big Cypress, informed you on the future of the land where the Caneel Bay Resort sits in Virgin Islands National Park, and showed you how the ailing health of the Colorado River is impacting national park units along its corridor.

We've also produced a months-long series on invasive species in the parks, examined the housing situation for park employees, told you about a disease that threatens to upend coral reefs from the U.S. Virgin Islands to Dry Tortugas National Park, and took you into Canada's park system. And we've kept a steady stream of daily news coming to you.

That just scratches the surface of the content the Traveler has brought you since the arrival of 2021. It hasn't built a trail or solved the National Park Service's funding woes. But we believe our coverage has kept you better informed on the threats confronting the parks, the issues the National Park Service is grappling with, and how your park experience is being made better ... or being degraded.

Simply put, the information we've provided you over the years is just as important as trail work, campground rehabilitation, and science in the parks. Imagine if the stories we cover were kept in a vacuum. 

Information can be powerful. If you value information on the National Park System, please support the only news organization that is focused solely on national parks and protected areas. Help us reach that $100,000 goal.