The Texas Wildlife Association Foundation and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition Inc. are offering four $10,000 Natural Resource Excellence in Education Scholarships in fall 2009.

The scholarships will be awarded to four freshmen at Texas universities who are majoring in a natural resource-related field such as agricultural science, wildlife science, forestry, range science and others.

Completed applications are due by Sept. 14, and they are available online at www.texas-wildlife.org.

"As our population has grown, the strain on our natural resources has grown proportionately," said TWAF president Charles Davidson. "Our future depends on our ability to manage our natural resources wisely, balancing the needs of man and nature. It just makes sense to identify our future leaders and support them while they are getting their educations. We will all benefit from their expertise in the years to come."

This is the third time that TWAF and SALE have teamed up to offer scholarships to future natural resource professionals. The program was expanded two years ago because of the overwhelming response and need.

"Last year, we were gratified not only by the number of applications, but by the high quality," Davidson said. "There are a lot of talented young people who are committed to caring for our natural resources."

To be eligible for a scholarship, a student must be a Texas resident; a graduate of a Texas high school; enrolled in a Texas accredited college or university with a natural resource/ agricultural degree program; classified as a "freshman" or in first year after high school in the accredited program; majoring in a natural resource-related field such as agricultural science, wildlife science, forestry, range science, etc.; and a citizen of the U.S. and students must provide a valid Social Security number if chosen.

Students must also maintain 12 hours per semester and a minimum 2.0 grade-point average per semester and a 2.5 cumulative GPA.

Scholarships will be awarded based on overall quality and on essay responses to a series of natural resource questions.