Don Stuart lobbied over 20 years before the Washington State Legislature. He worked for conservation districts, for a national environmental organization working to protect farmland, and for the commercial fishing industry. His legislative policy work helped create the Office of Farmland Preservation at the Washington State Conservation Commission and the Farmland Preservation Grants Program, in the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program. Don was also a JAGC officer in the U.S. Navy, a practicing trial attorney and partner in a Seattle law firm, a candidate for the U.S. Congress, and the spokesman and campaign manager in the successful defense of a statewide ballot initiative. He is the author of many reports and articles on agriculture and environmental issues.