"In a disaster like this, state boundaries disappear," said Patterson. "There's only one Gulf Coast and we're duty bound as Americans to protect it."
The two trailers -- one specialized for cleaning oiled wildlife, the other for allowing the animals to recover after they are cleaned -- will leave early Tuesday from the Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program's La Porte field office. Two Land Office oil spill specialists will also be traveling to Louisiana to integrate into the unified response command.
"We know this could have happened off the Texas coast, and we want our neighbors along the Gulf Coast to know that Texas is eager to lend a hand," Patterson said.
The Texas General Land Office Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program has also contributed 1,000 feet of fire boom to the Deepwater Horizon response effort, as well as other expertise called upon by industry, state and federal responders such as the Texas Automated Buoy System.
