Canyonlands National Park is a vast and fascinating place, but it's just one of nearly 430 units of the National Park System. Your support enables the Traveler to bring stories from across the park system to you/Kurt Repanshek file

Support for the National Parks Traveler has been great since we asked for your help in keeping the news organization's "lights on," and with just under two weeks to run in our fundraiser we have an opportunity to land a $7,500 match from the National Parks Conservation Association. 

"The National Parks Traveler is the best place to get your park news. If you care about the future of our national parks and want to know how they are dealing with climate change, if wildlife are thriving, if they are getting repaired and if there are new, updated stories being told—the Traveler reports on these topics every day," said Kristen Brengel, NPCA's senior vice president for government affairs. "They are a critical news source for the public. The Traveler keeps decision-makers and their constituents better informed. We need the Traveler to continue their excellent, focused reporting."

Your support goes directly to the news organization's operations. It helps cover IT costs, pay freelancers who bring you stories as wide-ranging as management of wolves at Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve and the cascading effects of climate change, including increasing rain events and rising seas, that are challenging cultural resource managers throughout the National Park System. Donations help cover phone bills, the behind-the-scenes cost of podcasts, travel expenses, and maintenance of the underlying architecture of the Traveler's website.

If you're undecided about supporting the Traveler, on December 24, this coming Sunday, read our overview of outstanding and unique stories that we brought readers this year. After seeing those stories, ask yourself where else you might find similar coverage.

Thanks to the wonderful support we've received so far, we've been able to qualify for a $15,000 match through the annual NewsMatch campaign to benefit nonprofit news organizations. Cash donations, pledges, and that NewsMatch match have pushed our support to a bit more than $50,000, which is a quarter of the $200,000 we hope to raise this fiscal year, which runs through June 2024. 

There are so many stories that deserve coverage across the National Park System. If you've already donated, ask your friends and businesses about supporting "Essential Coverage for Essential Places." If you work for the National Park Service, a friends group that supports a park, an NGO that works on environmental or conservation issues that touch the National Park System, please consider a donation to support the only news organization that is focused solely on coverage of national parks and protected areas.

If we can grab NPCA's $7,500 match, we can edge so much closer to our annual goal with your support before year-end. And don't forget, the Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization, so your donation could be fully tax deductible.