Ga. agency says sea turtles finally rebounding

Updated: 5:03 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012 | Posted: 5:01 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012
Ga. agency says sea turtles finally rebounding
By RUSS BYNUM
The Associated Press
SAVANNAH, Ga. —

A third straight summer of record nesting indicates the number loggerhead sea turtles hatching on Georgia beaches is rebounding, state wildlife officials said Thursday.

The pronouncement came after 24 years of intensive efforts to help the federally threatened species recover.

"We can say with a high level of certainty the population is increasing, which is something we couldn't say previously," said Mark Dodd, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist who heads the state's sea turtle recovery program. "We've had some big years previously, but still the overall trend was no increase in nesting."

Researchers and volunteers counted 2,218 loggerhead nests during the season that runs from May through August, Dodd said. That shattered the previous records of 1,992 nests counted last year and 1,760 in 2010.

More:
http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/environment/ga-agency-says-sea-turtles-finally-rebounding/nSgkZ/