Despite continued warnings and crackdowns against illegal baiting for deer -- including flights by state conservation officers to detect offenders -- numerous hunters were cited last week when the Minnesota deer season opened.

Conservation officer Bob Mlynar of Aitkin closed about 130 acres on three parcels of prime Aitkin County deer land to deer hunting when the owners of the properties were found hunting over bait they had placed.

They were cited and will have to wait 10 days after the removal of the bait to legally hunt it. Five other individuals on the properties received enforcement action as well, three for blaze orange violations.

And near Pierz, officer Paul Kuske found 14 stands with corn piles by them on a 160-acre parcel, plus additional corn placed on trails leading to the stands for a total of more than two dozen piles. Three people were cited.

Meanwhile, near Longville, officer Tim Collette said a group of deer hunters who said they had not placed any bait for three weeks found it hard to argue when the stomach of a recently shot deer was opened up to show it full of corn in a nonagricultural area. All were cited and the deer seized.

And near Virginia, a hunter told officer Matt Frericks that he was baiting because he was trying to do his part to reduce the state's deer population. He was cited instead.

Notes from the field

Conservation officers had a busy week. Among their reports:

• Officer Jeff Koehn helped the Itasca County Sheriff's Department with a lost 73-year-old hunter. At about midnight, Koehn found the hunter in a wooded area more than a mile from his tree stand.

The hunter was so happy when found he said, "Now I suppose I have to kiss you." The kiss was declined, but a ride by ATV back through the woods to his waiting family was agreed upon.

• Officer Ed Picht of Montevideo observed three deer hunters standing in the middle of a road. As he drove toward them, one pointed a scope-mounted shotgun at him.

"I wanted to see who you were," the hunter said.

The hunter was cited with negligent handling of a firearm.

• Hunting was slow in some areas throughout the state; officer Kurt Nelson of Glenwood encountered one party of 16 hunters that had just one deer for two days of hunting.

• A deer hunter shot a moose by mistake in the Bigfork area and was fined more than $1,000.

Ethical hunters

The Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, the DNR and Turn In Poachers (TIP) are asking hunters to share stories of admirable behavior in the form of nominations for the 15th Annual Minnesota Deer Hunter Ethics Award.

The award will honor a hunter who has exhibited conduct during the 2007 season that can serve as an example of admirable practices. Awards for youth and adult divisions will be presented at the 2008 MDHA Habitat Banquet on Feb. 23 at Breezy Point Resort near Brainerd.

Nominations will be accepted for the Minnesota Deer Hunter's Ethics Award until Jan. 4. Letters should be sent to Ethical Hunter Award, MDHA, 460 Peterson Road, Grand Rapids, MN 55744-8413, faxed to (218) 327-1349, or e-mailed to bri@mndeerhunters.com.