Spencer Rogers Receives ASBPA President’s Award

Spencer Rogers with a wave gauge used to collect data for hurricane modeling.

Spencer Rogers, North Carolina Sea Grant’s coastal construction and erosion specialist, is the recipient of the 2019 American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) President’s Award. The award is given to an individual the president selects for their contribution to the protection and restoration of beaches and shorelines.

“For all of my career in beach management, which spans over 40 years, I have known, worked with and respected Spencer Rogers,”said Tony Pratt, ASBPA president, in the association’s newsletter. “Spencer, based in North Carolina, has always been a reasoned, well thought-out coastal practitioner who observes well, researchers thoroughly and speaks knowingly to a very broad reach of communities, agencies and individuals.”

Throughout his career, Rogers has helped property owners, builders, designers, and governmental agencies to develop hurricane-resistant construction methods, understand shoreline erosion alternatives, and implement marine construction techniques. He serves on a panel of science experts who advise the N.C. Coastal Resource Commission. He also is co-vice chair of the Coastal Resources Advisory Council.

Rogers also is recognized from the Carolina coast to Australia as an expert on rip current science and outreach. He is a founding member and Sea Grant network representative on a task force on rip current safety that includes partners from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Lifesaving Association.

He says he’s honored to receive the award for his work at North Carolina’s coast, terrain he always has appreciated.

“We’ve got a little of everything,” he recently explained on American Shoreline Podcast. “We’ve got gorgeous beaches from 300 miles of oceanfront, and we’ve got 14,000 miles of estuarine shorelines, a lot of which is pristine. Over half of the oceanfront of the state is in public ownership in parks and national seashores, so there’s a lot of public access and undeveloped land. We’ve got some densely populated areas, but we don’t have the [more crowded] Miami or Myrtle Beaches. We’re more along the lines of family beaches and good small-scale summer resorts.”

Read more about Rogers’ award in ASBPA’s newsletter here.

Listen to the full interview with Rogers here.

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