  In recent years, ground-based gamma-ray observatories have made a number of
important astrophysical discoveries which have attracted the attention of the
wider scientific community. The Division of Astrophysics of the American
Physical Society has requested the preparation of a white paper on the status
and future of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy to define the science goals of
the future observatory, to determine the performance specifications, and to
identify the areas of necessary technology development. In this contribution we
give a brief overview of the activities of the current white paper team and
invite the international community to contribute to the white paper.

Astrophysics