Meet ISG Civil Engineer Caleb Rasmussen

ISG’s Caleb Rasmussen is a steward for conservation through his role as a civil engineer. Focusing on surface water, Caleb works on the unique waterways of the Midwest to improve water quality and wildlife. Even though he spends much of his time outside while on the job, you can still find him enjoying the outdoors working with his livestock or spending time with his family.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

It’s great to see how projects that I worked on are making a difference for people who utilize this space and its habitats. In surface water, you can see water quality improvement when native wildlife returns to the site, restoring the area’s our natural systems and biodiversity. I often go back to projects sites a year after completion to see how things are going and to check if there are any areas that we didn’t foresee or if we need to improve specific areas.

You worked at ISG before your previous job. What brought you back?

At my previous job, I was the only licensed surface water engineer located in Iowa, which posed a lot of travel and accommodation challenges. It was difficult to travel statewide and progress projects. I also really enjoyed the people at ISG and the culture, so that drew me back too. Since ISG is a single profit center, our teams work together toward the same goal, rather than competing against each other. This unifies our business units and disciplines—working toward the same goal across the firm.

How did you choose to work in water resources, and what do you enjoy about it?

I always wanted to be outside, and I wanted to be an engineer, which is what drove me toward civil engineering. That drive combined with my background and family history in rural conservation created a natural fit for surface water.

I love that each project is vastly different, because it keeps the work interesting and with a new situation each project. New locations and project sites bring new topography and site features, keeping me on my toes and constantly learning. The landscape of the site is the driver here, and it’s up to us to work with each landscape’s unique parameters.

What kind of project would you love to work on in the future?

A trout stream or losing stream would be exciting to work on. Losing streams challenge my natural way of thinking. In typical projects we think about how water enters an area, but a losing stream makes you think about how water is leaving the area. It would challenge my frame of mind because the water isn’t always accumulating downstream.

Where is your favorite vacation spot and why?

My family enjoys the Black Hills of South Dakota. I also enjoy Belize and would like to get back there sometime, but with a baby soon to be here, we are going to stick around here for a while.

How do you recharge after work?

I recharge by sleeping, but I stay busy outside of work. I tend livestock—cattle and hogs mostly—and am outside a lot doing chores and maintenance. Before kids, I was really into woodworking, so I’d like to get back into that again once they get older.

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