POPLAR ISLAND - Walking single-file, Dr. Willem Roosenburg and assistants Ryan Trimbath and Tony Frisbee keep their heads down, eyes focused on the sandy shore of this island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay.

They're looking for diamondback terrapin hatchlings, the next generation of the beloved - and imperiled - state reptile.

One year after lawmakers banned the commercial harvesting of terrapins, state regulators have made it illegal to keep terrapins as pets, too. And the state Department of Natural Resources is about to create an overall plan for helping terrapins, which are threatened by human behavior - sandy beaches...