diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index c4a34f4..751718b 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+2024-03-07
+* Update error warning in `check_te()` to not reference VPN since NPS no longer uses VPN.
+
 # QCkit v0.1.5
 2024-02-09
 * This version adds the DRR template, example files, and associated documentation to the QCkit package.
diff --git a/R/taxonomy.R b/R/taxonomy.R
index 19ba23f..3dddd0b 100644
--- a/R/taxonomy.R
+++ b/R/taxonomy.R
@@ -71,10 +71,7 @@ check_te <- function(x, species_col, park_code, expansion=FALSE) {
       fedlist <- ODataQuery::retrieve_data(odata_url)},
     error = function(e) {
       cat(crayon::red$bold("ERROR: "),
-          "Your connection timed out.\n",
-          "Make sure you are logged on to the VPN before running ",
-          crayon::green$bold("te_check()"),
-          ".", sep="")
+          "Your connection timed out.", sep="")
       stop()
     })
   #subset incoming data:
diff --git a/docs/pkgdown.yml b/docs/pkgdown.yml
index 69a5f59..3db4087 100644
--- a/docs/pkgdown.yml
+++ b/docs/pkgdown.yml
@@ -5,5 +5,5 @@ articles:
   DRR_Purpose_and_Scope: DRR_Purpose_and_Scope.html
   Starting-a-DRR: Starting-a-DRR.html
   Using-the-DRR-Template: Using-the-DRR-Template.html
-last_built: 2024-02-14T22:32Z
+last_built: 2024-03-07T18:46Z