Diamondback terrapins, which grow up to 7 inches long, thrive in the marshes off the Georgia island. But during nesting season, female terrapins seek to lay their eggs on high and dry ground - often the causeway that motorists travel between the island and Brunswick on the mainland.

The Jekyll Island Foundation is asking for donors for help raising $50,000 to fund a conservation research and education project focused on the terrapins. The study is a joint effort between the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and the University of Georgia.

A group that cares for and releases endangered sea turtle hatchlings into the Gulf of Mexico says it had a record 6,000 babies born this year.

Supporters say the total indicates the Kemp's ridley species is on the road to recovery.

Sea Turtle Inc. executive director Jeff George told the Valley Morning Star (http://bit.ly/QhOSpC) that the turtles hatched from 69 nests recovered by the organization.

The legislation will declare October 15 every year as Leatherback Conservation Day in California, urge conservation of this ancient marine species and encourage schools to teach about the native sea turtle. The bill is intended to recognize the importance of California state waters to the survival and recovery of the Pacific leatherback. Naming this species as the state marine reptile will add it to other state icons including the California gray whale, golden trout, poppy, and the redwood.

“Designating the Pacific leatherback sea turtle as our state marine reptile is part of a coordinated worldwide conservation effort to save a species whose population has declined more than 95 percent,” said Assemblymember Fong, who authored the bill. “Naming the leatherback sea turtle as our official state marine reptile will demonstrate California’s commitment to protecting leatherback sea turtles, our ocean’s ecosystem, and recognize the education and awareness this official designation bestows for this revered creature whose migratory pattern includes California’s coast.”

Since Isaac made landfall more than a week ago, the water the storm has receded and tar balls and oil have been reported on shores in Alabama and Louisiana, where officials closed a 13-mile stretch of beach Tuesday.

BP said Wednesday some of that oil was from the spill, but said some of the crude may be from other sources, too.

"If there's something good about this storm it made it visible where we can clean it up," BP spokesman Ray Melick said.

BP still has hundreds of cleanup workers on the Gulf Coast after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing 11 workers and leading to the nation's largest offshore spill.

Melick said the company was working with the Coast Guard, state officials and land managers to clean up the oil on the Fourchon beach in Louisiana. He said crews would be there Thursday.

Isaac made landfall near Fourchon on Aug. 28 as a Category 1 storm, pummeling the coast with waves, wind and rain. Seven people were killed in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Ed Overton, a chemist and oil spill expert at Louisiana State University, said the exposed oil was weathered and less toxic, though it could still harm animals — such as crabs, crawfish and bait fish.

Insiders at horse-racing tracks call it frog juice, and concerns about its use as a performance-enhancing drug in Louisiana, Oklahoma and other states have spread to Nebraska.

The Nebraska Racing Commission is investigating a case in which a urine sample drawn from a horse in the July 15 field at Horsemen’s Park in Omaha tested positive for a drug known scientifically as dermorphin.

The drug is extracted from a South American tree frog and acts as both a painkiller and a stimulant. And, as of Aug. 4, Adams horse trainer Kim Veerhusen has been suspended and ordered to pay a fine of $1,500 pending review of the incident by the commission.

According to the formal complaint, a horse named Cheatin’ Cowboy may have had dermorphin in its system when it finished second in the first race of the day in Omaha last month.

Cheatin' Cowboy since has been disqualified as a source of purse money, and Veerhusen has been suspended through Sept. 19 while drug allegations are investigated. Along with that, entry of any horses he owns or trains will be denied for the rest of the race season as it continues in Columbus.

Deputies on Sunday charged Robert Lee Chason, 22, of the 2600 block of Southwest Martin Avenue, Palm City, and James Hataway, 38, of the 800 block of Southwest 34th Terrace in Palm City, with armed trespassing, possession of American alligator. Joe Chason, 24, of the same address, and a teenage girl, who was not identified in the report, were both charged with trespassing. Hataway faces additional charges of tampering with evidence, illegal method of taking an alligator and other charges.

About 5:11 p.m. Sunday, deputies stopped a pickup on Southwest Citrus Boulevard after receiving reports that occupants in a pickup were trespassing on private property. Before stopping the truck, deputies saw a recently cut alligator in the middle of the road.

While questioning the men, Robert Chason admitted to shooting an alligator and said Hataway threw the tail out of the window. Deputies noticed blood was on Robert Chason's legs, the truck's bed and passenger side, the report states.