Our Guides

Michael Dean Smith
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, our Director and Board Secretary, 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 and joined Plateau Restoration as a Board Member in 1996. Tamsin is currently Adjunct Faculty at Utah State University in the Department of Environment and Society and Department of Forest, Range and Wildlife Sciences.