Minnesota Deer Hunters Association hires educator Jared Mazurek as new executive director

A native Minnesotan involved in environmental education out West has been chosen as the new executive director for the state's largest deer hunting organization.

Jared Mazurek, who graduated in 2010 from Mound Westonka High School, said he's in the process of selling his home in the Greeley, Colo., area to move near Grand Rapids, home of the 20,000-member Minnesota Deer Hunters Association (MDHA). He'll replace Craig Engwall as the hunting and conservation organization's executive director. Engwall recently took a senior position at the Board of Soil and Water Resources in St. Paul.

For about the past two years, Mazurek has headed Poudre Learning Center near Greeley, a nonprofit focused on environmental studies for K-12 students. The center has archery and fishing programs, but is more deeply involved in teaching ecology, biology and hydrology, he said.

Previously in Colorado, Mazurek said he worked for about eight years at other nongovernmental organizations involved in environmental studies.

Growing up, he said he hunted deer at his grandparents' property along the Crow Wing River. He said his father trained golden retrievers for pheasant hunting and the two of them spent time afield hunting roosters. Out West, he has hunted elk and mule deer.

"Jared joins MDHA to further pursue his passion for sharing the wonders of the outdoors with folks of all ages and backgrounds,'' the organization said in a news release.

Mazurek completed a master's degree in teaching at Colorado College and undergraduate degrees in environmental science, geography, and Spanish at the University of Denver. His studies have taken him to remote places throughout the southwestern United States, Nicaragua and Ecuador.