ASPEN, Colo. -- A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors stemming from the baiting and killing of a bear last month.

Craig Miller, 44, of Little Canada, Minn., entered his plea Monday to unlawfully killing a black bear, failing to dress and care for the meat, and using bait to kill a bear.

Miller was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation, loss of hunting privileges for five years and fines of $5,300. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of willful destruction of big-game wildlife. He was also ordered to donate $500 to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in lieu of community service.

Miller, a sales manager at a pharmaceutical company, said the loss of hunting privileges hit him especially hard, since his children are 13 and 11 and he wanted to take them hunting.

"In our house, we do hunt," he said. "It's woven into the fabric of our lives. Loss of hunting privileges is very sad. ... I apologize for the crimes I did."

Officials said he used a bow and arrow to kill a bear near Carbondale on September 1, the day before bow hunting season started. He was accused of skinning the bear, cutting off the head and leaving the meat behind to rot.

Officials say he used dog food to bait the bear.

The Division of Wildlife said that hunters illegally killed eight bears -- five male and three female -- in 2006.