Iowa’s Nick Rocca Named 2025 NASBLA Northern Region Officer of the Year
Since joining the DNR, Officer Rocca has exemplified outstanding expertise, leadership, and dedication to ensuring safety on Iowa’s waterways. His commitment to maritime navigation and enforcement has made a significant impact on recreational boating safety.
Rocca is a mentor and leader, participating in the annual Seasonal Officer training program, where he dedicates over 60 hours to equipping officers with essential skills. His approach fosters trust and teamwork, providing positive reinforcement and constructive feedback to help seasonal officers grow. By emphasizing best practices for public interaction, Rocca ensures officers carry out their duties with confidence and professionalism.
Safety is at the core of Rocca’s work. When not training, he patrols Iowa’s waterways solo, logging over 168 hours of enforcement annually. Beyond issuing citations, he uses every boater contact as an educational opportunity, discussing safe operation, hazard awareness, and boating safety courses. His year-round presence, even outside peak summer months, underscores his commitment to a constant law enforcement presence.
Assigned to the Mississippi River, Rocca supports all district water enforcement projects, including Operation Dry Water. During the 2024 Operation Dry Water weekend, he and 12 fellow officers patrolled for 187 hours, contacted 386 boaters, inspected 97 vessels, and arrested two individuals for boating while intoxicated, enhancing waterway safety.
Rocca’s quick thinking saved lives on two occasions, earning him the DNR’s Lifesaving Award. Early in the season, he rescued a woman struggling in fast-moving waters on the Mississippi River. Later, he identified a critically injured man on a personal watercraft, ensuring timely medical intervention that saved his life.
Officer Rocca’s skill, leadership, and unwavering dedication to safety make him a true asset. Congratulations, Conservation Officer Nick Rocca, on being named the 2025 NASBLA Northern Region Officer of the Year!
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First presented in 2000, the Marvin “Butch” Potts Memorial Award, known as the Boating Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award, is presented annually to the boating law enforcement officer who has made outstanding contributions to the field of boating law enforcement. The award program consists of three levels: state, regional, and national.
The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) is a national nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization that works to develop public policy for recreational boating safety. NASBLA represents the recreational boating authorities of all 50 states and the U.S. territories. We offer a variety of resources, including training, model acts, education standards, publications, and more. Through a national network of thousands of professional educators, law enforcement officers, and volunteers, we affect the lives of nearly 85 million American boaters.