Several turtle species nesting along coast in record numbers (al.com)
By Michael Dumas, Press-Register
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- This year is shaping up to be the Year of the Turtle along the Gulf Coast, and volunteers and wildlife experts in Alabama are excited to be in the middle of it.
Just 2 years after the oil spill of 2010, they say that turtle nesting appears to be thriving.
"We are having an extremely good year, a higher-than-average year," said Jackie Isaacs, wildlife biologist at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the Fort Morgan peninsula.
She said the first nest was discovered earlier than usual, on May 1.
Last year, a record 84 nests were identified by Share the Beach, a group that sends out volunteers each morning to survey 47 miles of Alabama coast, looking for turtle tracks that might indicate the presence of a fresh nest hidden in the sand.
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more: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/07/several_turtle_species_nesting.html
Sounds like good news for several different species of turtles. 
If you live near a beach where sea turtles nest, please do your part to ***KEEP THE NESTING AREAS FREE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS*** -- these disorient the turtles and can cause them to head away from the beach, where they fall prey to predators and cars.
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