The Janice and Paul Keesler Scholarship Fund is accepting applications from students looking to study wildlife management.

This is the 24th round of grants from the fund, which are awarded to New York state residents who are, “or will be, working toward obtaining a degree in some facet of management,” a press release said. As “a living memorial for two people who loved New York State and the outdoors, this fund assists students that wish to train in the field of wildlife management. Janice and Paul were avid sports persons who wrote and lectured about the outdoors and founded and published the nationally recognized and respected New York Sportsman Magazine.

“A great loss to all those who appreciate the wonder of nature, Janice passed away suddenly in 1988 and Paul in 2005 after a protracted battle with cancer. They are greatly missed.”

To date, the fund has awarded more than $29,000 in grants to wildlife management students.

The Keeslers founded New York Sportsman Magazine in 1972, according to a 2005 obituary.

“Paul was a man of vision who was determined to share the wealth of outdoor experiences available in New York to other sportsmen and women through the magazine,” said the obituary, written by Leo Maloney. “He overcame a lot of obstacles in the early years to make it one of the premier and successful publications for 30 years.

“Paul Keesler loved everything about the outdoors and it showed in writing or talks. He stressed enjoying the total experience, not just being concerned about the bragging rights or making the record book with your catch. One of his greatest legacies is that the writers who worked for him gained the ability to make the readers feel that they were talking to them, not talking down to them.”

Paul Keesler published several guidebooks as well, and served as president of the New York Outdoor Writers Association, earning its highest honor, the Hans Paller Award.

For more information, including the application form, go to www.keeslerscholarshipfund.org.