Cumberland, Wis. – Alaska mushers Tim Osmar and Monica Zappa are competing in the UP 200 race, Feb. 16-20, with two 8-dog teams. They are the only Alaskans among the registered racers.
 
Along with a win on the trail, they’re mushing to raise awareness of the serious threats to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery from a massive open-pit mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed. Osmar is a veteran musher who has won the Yukon Quest and completed the legendary Iditarod 23 times. Zappa, originally from Cumberland, Wis., is an up and coming musher who learned the sport growing up in the Midwest.

Both have decked out their gear – including their truck, dog boxes, sleds, parkas and all of their dogs’ coats – in No Pebble Mine and Save Bristol Bay decals. The mushers, both commercial salmon fishermen, plan to donate a share of any winnings to the Save Bristol Bay campaign.

“We’re thrilled to compete in the Midwest and bring a message that the world’s best sockeye salmon fishery shouldn’t be sacrificed to a massive open pit copper and gold mine,” said Tim Osmar. “We need to show the rest of the country that Bristol Bay and its vast salmon are a national resource that must be protected.” 

The pair is hosting three events in the region (please include in calendar listings), showing the award-winning documentary “Red Gold,” about the people and way of life that depends on the world’s largest sockeye run.
 
Wednesday, Feb. 15:  7 p.m. Red Gold screening at the Crooked Tree Arts Center, 461 East Mitchell Street, Petoskey. $5 suggested donation.
 
Monday, Feb. 20:  7 p.m. Red Gold screening, Mead Auditorium, Northern Michigan University campus, Marquette. Free.
 
Tuesday, Feb. 21: 6 p.m. Red Gold screening, The Orpheum Theater, Home of the Studio Pizza, 426 Quincy St., Hancock. Free.
 
Tim and Monica ran the Apostle Islands race in Bayfield on Feb. 4 and 5, and competed in the Kearney Sled Dog Race in Ontario last weekend.

Up to 60 million sockeye salmon return to the Bristol Bay watershed each year, supporting thousands of fishing jobs and businesses, countless wildlife, and a subsistence catch for Alaska Natives. Bristol Bay is also a sport fishing paradise, with ample runs of trophy rainbow trout and other species. The proposed Pebble Mine would dig a pit 3 miles wide and 2,500 feet deep (1,000 feet taller than the Sears Tower). It would create some 10 billion tons of toxic waste requiring treatment and storage forever behind towering earthen dams in an area known for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

“Just like Alaskans, people in the upper Midwest understand the importance of fishing and hunting, and surviving on the food that you catch,” Zappa said. “We believe they will join us in opposing this threat to our lives and livelihoods.”