• by Sara Guaglione , June 5, 2017

The fundraising campaign for the series is the first time Guardian UShas asked its readers to back a specific beat.

Lee Glendinning, Guardian US editor, stated the publication is asking readers to help raise awareness "by supporting in-depth journalism that will hold politicians and companies accountable for their environmental policies. Guardian US strives to cover under-reported stories in America, and the battle over public lands needs more visibility.”

As of Monday afternoon, the page has raised more than $21,000.

The funds will go toward editing, reporting, graphics and new commissions. If the fundraising target is exceeded, Guardian US will use additional funds to support its environmental reporting to cover issues like climate change, conservation and environmental policy.

If it does not reach its fundraising goal, the funds will go to “a scaled back project on public lands,” according to the site.

“This Land Is Your Land" is described on the contributions page: “America's public lands are under threat… More than 640 million acres of land owned by the American people — including national monuments and parks used for hiking, camping, skiing, hunting, fishing and more — are in danger because of proposed rollbacks of environmental protections and an initiative in Congress to transfer land away from the American public.

"The plans could give oil, gas and mining interests and private developers unprecedented control of America’s shared resources — and threaten the $646 billion outdoor recreation industry.”

The project was inspired by Guardian readers. A story published in January about Republicans moving to sell off 3.3 million acres of national land attracted close to 1 million readers, tens of thousands of dollars in contributions and 61,000 comments on Facebook.

“This Land Is Your Land" launched today with a story on the threat to the Grand Canyon from uranium mining.

Last year, the online site launched a program to ask its readers to sign up for a membership or contribute to the site. Guardian US does not have a paywall. Membership to the site is $6.99 a month or $69 a year. Readers can also make one-time contributions of any amount.

These programs now account for a “significant” portion of Guardian US’ revenue.

Guardian US is the US digital edition of UK-based The Guardian, owned by Guardian News & Media.