2009 Guest Speakers Profiles
Jim Aton
James M. Aton has been Professor of English at Southern Utah University since 1980. He is the author of John Wesley Powell (Boise 1994), (with Robert S. McPherson) River Flowing from the Sunrise: An Environmental History of the Lower San Juan (Logan 2000), and (with photographer Dan Miller) The River Knows Everything: Desolation Canyon and the Green (Logan 2009). River Flowing won the Hundley Award for best book from the Pacific Coast Branch of the American Historical Association and was a Finalist for the Utah Book Award in Nonfiction.
Jack Schmidt
Professor of stream geomorphology in the Department of Watershed Science at Utah State University, Dr. Schmidt has been Director of the Intermountain Center for River Rehabilitation and Restoration since 2006 and is current Director of the Utah State University Water Initiative. Jack is well-known for his extensive research relating to the affect of dams on the Colorado and Green Rivers and is regularly seen collecting data in the Grand Canyon and other rivers.
Herm Hoops
A naturalist, retired from the National Park Service, Herm now operates Oneway Boatworks where he dabbles in rubber fabric and adhesive fumes. He was active in Colorado Plateau River Guides, coordinates educational seminars, and is the Shop Manager for River Runners in Vernal. But it is the river, flowing incessantly through his head, that drives his love and passion.
Herm is an active Board member of Plateau Restoration. See some of Herm's writing in the "River History Articles" page of this website.
Herm is an active Board member of Plateau Restoration. See some of Herm's writing in the "River History Articles" page of this website.
Wayne Ranney
Wayne Ranney is a geologist and writer who interprets complex scientific ideas to interested non-specialists
through lectures, writing, and the development of museum exhibits. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Earth Science from Northern Arizona University and is an adjunct professor of geology at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff. Wayne has led international excursions to destinations that include
the Amazon, Antarctica, the Arctic, the North and South Poles, and South America. He leads wilderness river and hiking trips in the Four Corners states for Smithsonian Journeys and the Grand Canyon Field Institute. He is an award-winning author and some of his books include Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, Carving Grand Canyon,and Sedona Through Time. For the past six years he has served on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Northern Arizona. He lives with his wife Helen in Flagstaff, Arizona. See www.wayneranney.com
through lectures, writing, and the development of museum exhibits. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Earth Science from Northern Arizona University and is an adjunct professor of geology at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff. Wayne has led international excursions to destinations that include
the Amazon, Antarctica, the Arctic, the North and South Poles, and South America. He leads wilderness river and hiking trips in the Four Corners states for Smithsonian Journeys and the Grand Canyon Field Institute. He is an award-winning author and some of his books include Ancient Landscapes of the Colorado Plateau, Carving Grand Canyon,and Sedona Through Time. For the past six years he has served on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Northern Arizona. He lives with his wife Helen in Flagstaff, Arizona. See www.wayneranney.com
Roy Webb
Roy Dale Webb, born in Farmington, New Mexico, in October, 1952. I grew up in Farmington on the banks of the San Juan and Animas Rivers. I've run all of the Green below Fontenelle Dam in Wyoming, all of the Colorado between Grand Junction and South Cove, the San Juan, the White River, and other rivers in the western United States. I've written four books and many articles and book reviews on the history of river running in Utah and the Intermountain West. I was a Fellow of the Huntington Library in 2004, doing research in the vast collection of river history in the Otis R. Marston papers, taught classes on river running history for the University of Utah, been a consultant for video documentary projects and television series, and have been a speaker for the training seminars given by the Grand Canyon River Guides Association, both during the land sessions and the two-week river training trips, and was a charter member of the Colorado Plateau River Guides Association.
Robert Wood
Author Robert S. Wood has written on subjects ranging from trout fishing to medicine to philosophy, always searching for ways ways to better his life. After rafting Glen Canyon with Murl Emery in 1963, Bob went on to run 900 miles of the Colorado and became a river guide at age 53. Since retiring from TIME, LIFE, and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, he has written a dozen books. His latest book is Desert Riverman, about Murl Emery. For more information visit www.robertwoodbooks.com.
Wright Robinson
Wright Robinson has a MS in Biology with a concentration in Marine/Terrestrial Ecology. He worked in a marine research facility in Virginia and Jamaica and then taught for about 20 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. This is his third year working on the Grand County tamarisk beetle project. When not tracking tamarisk beetles, he tracks down lost and injured tourists as part of the Grand County Search and Rescue team. He enjoys reading, hiking, biking, photography, rafting and kayaking.
Michael Dean Smith,
Event Director/Founder
Plateau Restoration's Founder and Board President, Michael has lived on the Colorado Plateau since 1976 and in Moab since 1989. His love for the Plateau was ingrained while working at Phantom Ranch in the bottom of the Grand Canyon in the mid-70's. He later earned degrees in Outdoor Education and Recreation Management from Colorado Mountain College and in Outdoor Recreation and Resource Management from Prescott College, Arizona. He worked as a National Park Service Ranger in visitor and resource protection and interpretation at Arches, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges, and Dinosaur National Parks and Monuments, and has guided for numerous outfitters including OARS at the Grand Canyon and Canyonlands Field Institute in Moab, UT. Michael was Manager of Sand Flats Recreation Area, Moab, home of the famous Slickrock Bike Trail from 1998 to 2004. He is also a licensed landscaping contractor and Master Gardner.
Tamsin McCormick
A native of Zimbabwe, Tamsin has lived in the Four Corners states of the US since 1977. She holds Bachelor's, Master's and PhD degrees in Geology, and has been teaching college courses in geology on the Colorado Plateau since 1993. She has served as a naturalist guide on river and land-based trips since 1994. She joined Plateau Restoration as a Board Member in 1996 and is currently the organization's Executive Director. Tamsin has Adjunct Faculty appointments at Utah State University in the Department of Environment and Society and Department of Wildlife Resources.
