Duane Stewart
Board Member

Bio

Duane Stewart and his wife, Patricia (“Trish”), have called the St. James community home since 2021. A lifelong North Carolina native, Duane brings to Lower Cape Fear Wildlife a rare combination: decades of technical expertise in how land and water systems work, paired with a hands-on commitment to protecting the wildlife that depends on them.

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A graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in civil engineering, Duane spent 33 years as President of his own engineering, surveying, and planning firm in Durham, NC. That career gave him an intimate, practical understanding of drainage, watersheds, wetlands, and the built environment — knowledge that translates directly into thoughtful, informed conservation advocacy for coastal habitats in and around St. James.

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Duane’s conservation instincts run deep and personal. As a former Master Gardener in Durham County, he has long practiced organic gardening and backyard composting, tending soil and landscapes in ways that support pollinators and local ecosystems rather than work against them. That same ethic carried into his service on the board of directors of The St. James Conservancy, where he was directly involved in conservation and wildlife initiatives throughout the community. Among the projects he found most rewarding was the installation of turtle basking platforms in ponds across St. James — a hands-on habitat improvement that gave local turtle populations safe places to sun themselves and thrive, and one that reflects exactly the kind of practical, boots-in-the-mud conservation work LCFW values.

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Duane’s blend of engineering rigor, land-use knowledge, and genuine love of gardening and wildlife habitat makes him a strong addition to the Lower Cape Fear Wildlife board.