Summary
In September 1961, conservation officer Vernon Fitzpatrick announced that Beaver Island would have a bucks-only deer season. The Beaver Beacon says the department wanted to build up the herd before reinstating “Any Deer” laws.
A December follow-up reports 22 deer shot during the season, 230 hunters, and five illegal deer; two of those were salvaged and given to needy families.
Evidence and limits
This record captures a newspaper announcement and later seasonal report, not a held regulation or complete harvest register. It does not establish the exact season dates, enforcement procedure, deer population, or the legal identity of the issuing authority beyond the source’s Conservation Department wording.
Open questions
- Where is the formal 1961 deer-season order, and what were its effective dates?
- How were the five illegal deer handled, and what were the complete harvest records?
- When was the any-deer season restored?
See also
- Vernon Fitzpatrick (1961 Beaver Island conservation officer)
- Michigan Conservation Department (Beaver Island wildlife work, 1961)
- John Ozaga predator study on Beaver Island (1961)
- Beaver Island
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, September 1961, “Conservation Department News.”Reports that Vernon Fitzpatrick officially announced a bucks-only season because the department judged it wise to build up the deer herd before reinstating any-deer laws. The newspaper report is not the formal order.
- Beaver Beacon, December 1961, “Conservation Department News.”Reports 22 deer shot during the season, 230 hunters, and five illegal deer, two of which were salvaged and given to needy families; it does not reproduce the underlying regulation.