While many people dream of retiring in quiet Florida condominiums, that’s not the case for Hart County resident Steve Kistler – who spends his days documenting and photographing local flora for a website he’s working on.  

Kistler, a lifelong naturalist, remembers his interest in nature flowering after an Audubon Society field trip he took with his father as a kid. Much like an athlete who loves sports, he said being a naturalist “is kind of part of my being.” 

“Nature is very purifying,” said Kistler. “I think everybody has an interest in nature and some people don’t know it.”

Initially interested in birds as a kid, Kistler later developed an interest in botany. After being a school teacher and cave guide at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kistler looked for a good project to do in his retirement. He’s documented at least 503 plant species, all of which can be found in Hart County, at hartcountyflora.org.

“I’m not nearly done yet,” said Kistler, who added that plants are as varied as people. Unlike other parts of the U.S., Kistler said Kentucky benefits from a warm climate with plenty of rain, making for a greener landscape. 

Sandra Wilson is the director of the Horse Cave/Hart County Tourist Commission and said the area’s greenery is underappreciated by locals. 

“To people who are coming from big cities, the whole area is just a treasure trove of beautiful plants that we take for granted a lot,” she said. 

The website will also help locals identify plants, she said. 

Along with catalogs of wildflowers, ferns, trees and invasive species, Kistler’s website features a “find a plant” tool allowing users to search based on different categories. 

He intends the project to be a complete visual guide to the area’s flora. That goal is more realistic with a website that uses the modern convenience of digital photography and avoids expensive publication costs.

It’s important work, Kistler said, because you can’t know if an environment is healthy without first knowing what’s normal. 

“Documenting change requires that you know what was there in the first place,” he said. 

As a resource management specialist with Mammoth Cave National Park, Brice Leech understands that. He catches birds in nets and collects data about them as part of the range of things he does in the park. 

He’s also aware of the threat invasive species like kudzu pose to native plants. Out of the 172 exotic species in the park, about 100 are considered invasive and threaten to outcompete native plants. 

Kistler’s work is important, Leech said, because it helps naturalists know when invasive species are forcing out local ones. 

“The more we know with the species … the more we’ll be able to better manage these habitats to better protect these resources,” he said. 

— To comment or contribute to hartcountyflora.org, email kistlers@scrtc.com.

— Follow Daily News WKU, county schools and general assignment reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.