National Parks Traveler Shuts Down After 21 Years of Coverage Due to Trump Pressures and Media Struggles

If properly appreciated, National parks, he said, “are so important in helping people reconnect with themselves, with forgetting about checking their email, checking their texts.”

And that’s only the beginning of their value.

Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor, ended the 21-year venture despite its journalistic success and broad audience, highlighting some of the challenges of sustaining dedicated national parks journalism amid political pressures and industry decline.

Launched as a blog in 2005 and becoming a nonprofit in 2016, the publication covered parks nationwide and served as Repanshek’s sole full-time job. Its reporting primarily relied on phone, Zoom, and press releases, supplemented by some field visits. Repanshek highlighted the National Park Service’s turmoil and diminished communication, noted administration pressures including cuts, and expressed disappointment at the outdoor recreation industry’s lack of financial support. The closure may leave a gap in watchdog journalism for national parks.

Though talks about a new operator continue, no firm plans have emerged. Repanshek indicated he planned to write a letter to Congress, and the Traveler’s website remains online.

With high burnout and low morale, he believes the park service is in danger of lasting. And because the agency has drastically scaled back communications, trying to report on it is very frustrating. It got so bad that Traveler reporters couldn’t even secure interviews on stories of park service successes, he said.

For Montana’s business community, the loss of a dedicated national parks news source might diminish awareness of federal park issues that influence regional tourism and conservation efforts. Montana’s economic ties to outdoor recreation could potentially heighten sensitivity to such coverage gaps, especially as media consolidation and financial constraints reshape information flows important for local decision-making.

Shuttered National Park Traveler editor talks Trump pressures, media struggles – WyoFile
By Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile