Officials from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources say volunteers and researchers have found loggerhead sea turtle nests on Wassaw, St. Catherines and Ossabaw Islands.

Federal authorities consider the turtles threatened. Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman Melissa Cummings says the turtles typically crawl ashore, dig holes on Georgia's barrier island beaches and lay their eggs at night.

Cummings says Georgia had 2,241 loggerhead sea turtle nests in 2012, which was the most in the past 24 years.

Cummings says sea turtle nests are marked, monitored and protected by the Georgia Sea Turtle Cooperative. The group is comprised of volunteers, researchers and Department of Natural Resources employees who patrol beaches on the state's barrier islands daily during nesting season.

Tags: Department of Natural Resources, sea turtles, Georgia coast, Loggerhead Turtles, Ossabaw Island, sea turtle nests, Wassaw Island, St. Catherine's Island