Pheasant hunters from around the region are about to take aim at cancer.

The Mower County Chapter Habitat & Pheasants Forever will hold “The Hunt For A Cure” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Three Arrows Game Preserve in rural LeRoy.

Fundraising through “Hunt for a Cure” will count toward the annual “Paint the Town Pink” initiative in 2016.

Early registration is encouraged to guarantee a spot in one of the event’s hunting groups (four to six people), with space limited to 80 hunters overall. Cost is $125 per hunter, with the preserve putting out four birds per hunter.

Jamie Surdy, president of Mower County Habitat & Pheasants Forever, led the effort to bring back the hunting fundraiser after a previous area Pheasants Forever chapter organized one in 2013 at Three Arrows but did not last year.

“We all have been affected by cancer at some point in our lives,” Surdy said in a press release. “We just felt that this was an opportunity to support a worthwhile organization like The Hormel Institute as they continue to try to find a cure for this disease.”

Raffles and prizes also will be available at the event.

Participants will be assigned a two-hour hunting period. Hunters and others walking in the field must wear blaze orange (both a cap and vest are recommended) and should bring a 12- or 20-gauge shotgun with a working safety and their own shells. They can bring their own dogs.

A parent or guardian must accompany hunters who are age 12 to 16.

Earlier this year, “Paint the Town Pink” raised more than $190,000 for breast cancer research at The Hormel Institute. Since 2011, “Paint the Town Pink” has raised about $551,000 in support for the Institute’s breast cancer research.

Donations through “Paint the Town Pink” in recent years have been distributed as seed grants to researchers at The Hormel Institute for new projects on breast cancer, helping the investigators explore new ideas and gather preliminary data vital for seeking major research grants. While directed at breast cancer, PTTP-funded research includes projects that also affect other types of cancer.

Three Arrows, owned by Ben Jacobsen, is located at 78590 125th St. near LeRoy. Registration forms are available on the Mower County Habitat & Pheasants Forever website — www.pfmowercountyhabitat.org — or people can call 507-433-9201.

Spotlight on pheasants

Mower County Habitat & Pheasants Forever is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing pheasant and other wildlife populations in North America.

The event will also give the community a chance to see what Pheasants Forever is all about.

“Pheasants Forever is not just a bunch of guys who raise birds and hunt them and eat them,” Davin Alan of MCHPF told the Herald. “We’re one of major ecological conservative groups involved habitat restoration and preservation.”

To learn more about the event, visit www.pfmowercountyhabitat.org.