For more than 19 years the National Parks Traveler has been working to keep those who own the National Park System — you, the American public — informed not only on how to make the most out of your national park vacation, but also aware of management decisions made by the National Park Service and Congress.
It's vital information you should have so you know how the parks are being cared for.
It's a mission we take very seriously, because the National Park System is a wondrous collection of amazing places, many steeped deeply in history and culture along with scenic beauty, and they deserve the utmost protection. After all, the Park Service is mandated to protect and preserve the parks "unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
Over the years we've kept you informed on how the Park Service is succeeding with that mission, and how it's failed. Here are just a few examples:
Earthen burial mounds photographed just after dawn / NPS
Effigy Mounds National Monument To Prepare Cultural Landscape Report
As the National Park Service continues to recover from perhaps the darkest chapter in its history at Effigy Mounds National Monument, officials are developing a Cultural Landscape Report and Environmental Assessment to understand exactly what the monument's landscape contains and to develop a management plan going forward.
Traveler's View: No One's Talking
The National Park Service has a toxic problem that no one wants to talk about, and that’s the problem. Across the agency there may be hundreds, possibly many hundreds, of employees claiming they’ve endured some form of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. Many tell a compelling story. Others seem less clear-cut. But across the board, proving those cases and achieving a satisfactory outcome for all involved is incredibly difficult.
PEER: NPS Remains Plagued By Low Morale, Rising Attrition
Nearly two years after Chuck Sams took over as director of the National Park Service with a determination to improve employee morale, workforce morale continues to fall, employee flight from the agency is growing, and the agency's directorate is failing to reverse those trends, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The Grandmother Tree at Crater Lake National Park/Jennifer Bain
Seeing Beyond The Lake At Crater Lake National Park
Gnarly and wizened, she can’t compete with Crater Lake’s impossibly blue beauty. Nor does she try as she stubbornly clings to life at the edge of the caldera. They quietly call her the Grandmother Tree but don’t mark the spot where she stands with her name or story.
Valles Caldera: A Diamond In The Rough
VALLES CALDERA NATIONAL PRESERVE — Valles Caldera is a mountainous, forested landscape broken by sweeps of grasslands and which in places rises more than 11,000 feet in northern New Mexico. It is also, figuratively, a not quite 90,000-acre blank canvas upon which the National Park Service is working to create what it envisions will be a masterpiece.
Watching Pele at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park/Janice Wei
Exploring the Parks | In Awe Of Pele's Force
HAWAI'I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK — Charles Wilkes stood on the lip of Kīlauea's summit crater after dark and was astonished by the scene playing out before his eyes. "The streams were of a glowing cherry-red color, illuminating the whole crater around," Wilkes said of the lava squeezing through cracks in the crater's surface. "The large lake beyond seemed swelling and becoming more vivid, so that we expected very moment to see an overflow from it of greater grandeur. ... The sight was magnificent, and worth a voyage round the world to witness."
We've brought you stories of how Congress is underfunding the National Park System, of how lodging prices in the parks are rising faster than the Consumer Price Index, and how the Park Service continues to struggle with diversity in both visitation and managers. We've brought you weekly podcasts since February 2019 on topics as diverse as keeping track of wolves in Voyageurs National Park and some of the problems with recreation.gov, provided Rebecca Latson's great photography tips from the parks, created a growing collection of guides to the parks, and worked to keep you apprised of upcoming fee increases and reservation requirements.
We know of no other news outlet that provides this information on a daily basis.
Today, on #Giving Tuesday, if our mission resonates with you, I ask you to consider donating what you can to help keep our trustworthy journalism thriving. We are hoping to raise $5,000 by the end of the day. And, thanks to NewsMatch, all gifts up to $1,000 are being matched dollar for dollar.
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