After completing master's degrees in botany and zoology at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Don Kurz spent the next 30 years working to inventory, acquire, protect, and manage natural areas, endangered species sites, and other special features. For 22 years he was employed by the Missouri Department of Conservation, where he held various supervisory positions in the Natural History Division, including that of Natural History Chief, which he held until his retirement from the department in 2002. Don is now a part-time writer and nature photographer specializing in landscapes, wildlife, insects, and plants. His photos have appeared in calendars and magazines such as Natural History as well as numerous wildflower books, including Falcon Publishing's Tallgrass Wildflowers and North Woods Wildflowers. He is also author of Falcon Publishing's Ozark Wildflowers and Scenic Routes and Byways, The Ozarks, along with the Missouri Department of Conservation's Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri, Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri Field Guide, Trees of Missouri, and Trees of Missouri Field Guide. Other guides published by Tim Ernst Publishing are Arkansas Wildflowers, Illinois Wildflowers, and Missouri's Natural Wonders Guidebook.

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