Case Construction Equipment, Sonsray Machinery, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Team Rubicon teamed up for a heavy equipment operator training and improvement project at the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge. Sonsray Machinery provided four machines — two CX80C excavators and two SR210 skid steer loaders — and Team Rubicon brought in four instructors and nine volunteers from across the United States for the event, which involved classroom instruction as well as practical hands-on training in safety and machine operation.

Located on the southern rim of San Diego Bay, the Refuge is an important stopover for migratory birds, and supports a diverse array of natural habitats for a variety of wildlife including rare birds, butterflies and other wildlife that are critical to the area's ecosystem. In addition to training nine new heavy equipment operators, Team Rubicon also made improvements to an access road, and removed more than 50 tons of concrete from an old dairy complex within the Refuge.

For Team Rubicon — an organization that unites the skills and experiences of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams for disaster relief — the training preps their volunteers for operating heavy equipment during disaster response deployments, and also makes them eligible to assist the National Wildlife Refuge System on future projects. Team Rubicon has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to create opportunities to provide heavy equipment training. A key component is Team Rubicon's partnership with Case, which provides both training and heavy equipment through its dealer network.

For more information, visit TeamRubiconUSA.org, CaseCE.com/TeamRubicon and SonsrayMachinery.com.