There was squash casserole, homemade cookies -- even some organically grown vegetables -- at last Thursday's semi-annual meeting of the Savannah Riverkeeper environmental group.

There was also a special announcement from their executive director, Dr. Frank Carl. He will resign his leadership role and shift to volunteer duties as he gears up for retirement. Carl helped establish the group more than eight years ago and has guided it carefully, and we wish him well.

Those of us who fish and hunt aren't necessarily in the same circles as those who fight for a river that has no voice of its own, but we should be.

In the years since Savannah Riverkeeper has been in existence, the group has blown the whistle on numerous polluters and reported plenty of violations of Georgia's erosion laws that are designed to keep silt and runoff from killing our waterways.

They have worked to bring more attention and appreciation to the river by staging canoe and raft races, overnight boat trips to Savannah and musical events -- all keyed to the river.

A successor will be named soon for this group, and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.

RECORD STRIPER: State authorities Friday confirmed a 63-pound Lake Russell striper as a new tie with Georgia's existing state record.

Terry McConnell, of Toccoa, landed the 49.5-inch fish on April 3 using blueback herring on a baitcasting rod. The catch ties the current striped bass state record, which was caught in the Oconee River in 1967.

Striped bass can reach weights of up to 80 pounds (the current all-tackle world record is 67 pounds, 8 ounces, according to the International Game Fish Association), but most are between 5 and 25 pounds.

Authorities stocked 1.5 million stripers in Georgia's rivers and lakes last year.

BUOY BAN: A reader e-mailed recently to lament what he perceives as a change in Army Corps of Engineers policy that might affect fishing success near Thurmond Dam.

The issue, he wrote, is tying up to the "off limits" rope that keeps boats away from the reservoir side of the dam, above the turbine intakes. The area is a choice spot for stripers.

"I've always tied up there to fish, and now they're telling people they aren't allowed to do that."

I checked with Corps Ranger Chrissy Westerberg, who advised that there has been no change of policy, and that tying up to the safety rope has always been against the rules.

"Regarding the buoy line in the forebay of the dam on the lake side, in fact, boaters are not supposed to tie up there," she said. "It is against the regulations in our Title 36 Rules: 'vessels shall not be attached or anchored to structures such as locks, dams, buoys or other structures.'"

She added, however, that the rule isn't well enforced.

Law enforcement rangers from Georgia and South Carolina do patrol the lake, however, and they have the ability to enforce that rule if they choose.

URBAN WHITETAILS: Too many deer in your driveway? Hunt 'em!

A new study by Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division has concluded what most outdoorsmen already know: the best way to control exploding deer populations in developed areas is through hunting.

State officials pooled the resources of an 18-member Urban Deer Advisory Committee to explore issues related to the state's rapid growth, estimated to be about 160,000 new residents each year, and the corresponding rise in problems with whitetail deer.

There are about 45,000 deer-vehicle crashes each year, causing numerous injuries and millions of dollars in insurance claims. Other whitetail issues include damage to crops, fencing and -- in many neighborhoods -- landscaping.

The problem isn't all the fault of the deer, according to assistant game management chief John Bowers, who co-authored the study. Many areas simply have so many people that conflicts with the deer are unavoidable.

Regulated hunting has successfully reduced the statewide deer population from a high of 1.4 million deer in the 1990s to the current statewide estimate of 1 million deer, Bowers said, but much denser deer populations exist in urban and suburban settings, where hunting opportunities are limited.

To view the entire Urban Deer Management Plan, and get some facts you can use when you approach your neighbor about a bowstand in his backyard, visit www.georgiawildlife.com and select "Hunting" and then "Game Management."

Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.