Scott Crowder, founder of the North American Pond Hockey Classic, has been hired as the state’s first director of outdoor recreation and industry development.

The Department of Business and Economic Affairs announced on April 1 that it hired Scott Crowder to run the state’s new Office of Outdoor Recreation Development, the newly created office that was formed to support development of New Hampshire’s tourism economy.

Crowder’s experience also includes being a principal of Ekal Consulting and a founding partner of Ekal Activity Center in Meredith.

As director, Crowder will be responsible for coordinating outdoor recreation policy with partners both in and out of state government, such as the newly formed Granite Outdoor Alliance.

“Scott’s entrepreneurial experience in the outdoor industry is exactly what we need to launch the new state office of Outdoor Recreation Industry Development and accelerate the potential of the state’s outdoor recreation assets,” said Taylor Caswell, commissioner of Department of Business and Economic Affairs, which oversees the new office.

According to Granite Outdoor Alliance, New Hampshire’s outdoor industry provides 37,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in wages, and $528 million in state and local taxes.

— JEFF FEINGOLD