It has been reported that an effort is under way to counter what officials say are misconceptions about the effect the massive Gulf of Mexico oil leak is having on coastal beaches.

The Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center put a release on its Web site Sunday headlined: "Volunteers, agencies counter misinformation about oil spill."

The release stated that "Rumors have been spreading about the oil spill." Those "exaggerated rumors about dirty beaches" can cause people to cancel their vacations and torpedo the economy in an "otherwise pristine beach town."

Bianca Ephraim, a receptionist at the National Parks Service, said, "Yes, there are tar balls here and there, but our water is clear as glass."

She takes up to 70 calls a day, many of them dealing with questions about the status of beaches because of the ongoing BP leak that has sent tens of millions of gallons of crude flowing into the gulf since an April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, killing 11 workers, Ephraim has said.

She further added, "They'll call and say, 'I've heard this, it's not that they don't believe us, but it's a rumor."

According to the center, the U. S. Parks Service in Pensacola, Fla., has volunteers working the beaches to answer visitors' questions and update a hotline if oil is spotted.

He's had to shoot down rumors cited by callers such as the one about oil-coated birds being spirited from beaches at night to hide the evidence of the spill, says Harv Wilson, a contractor assisting with animal recovery. (With Inputs from Agencies)