Case Construction Equipment provided six machines for the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge Project.Photo: Case Construction Equipment
Case Construction Equipment, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Team Rubicon worked together to provide equipment operator training and erosion abatement at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in Los Fresnos, Texas. The project achieved two primary goals: certifying equipment operators with Team Rubicon to work on national wildlife refuges and performing much-needed erosion control at Laguna Atascosa, which sits on 97,000 acres bordering the Gulf of Mexico.
Participants in the project pose beside one of the half-dozen machines provided by Case.Photo: Case Construction Equipment
Case provided six machines for the effort – three full-size excavators and three skid steers – and Team Rubicon brought in 18 operators from across the United States for the training. Team Rubicon is an organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams for disaster relief.
The refuge project is an extension of its Case’s “Dire States” infrastructure advocacy and awareness campaign.
“Public parks and recreational areas are a critical and often overlooked part of American infrastructure,” says Brian Weisbaum, Case’s project manager for Dire States. “Refuges and green spaces like Laguna Atascosa are important for wildlife habitat preservation while also bringing in billions of dollars nationally to the American economy via tourism and support.
“Our hope is that this project serves as an example for ways that private organizations such as Case can work with public entities and nonprofits to improve important community infrastructure such as the National Wildlife Refuge System.”
Jared Brandwein, director of conservation programs for the National Wildlife Refuge Association, said the partnership could not have come together at a better time.
“We identified a wildlife refuge in need of help completing a conservation project and Case and Team Rubicon stepped up to volunteer their time, equipment and people-power to get it done,” Brandwein said. “The fact that the Refuge System could also provide training to Team Rubicon’s disaster volunteers makes this partnership even more meaningful.”
A Team Rubicon spokesperson called the training provided by the project as “invaluable,” adding: “The ability to safely operate heavy machinery bolsters our disaster relief efforts in communities across the country.”
