Official implicated in Redskins-owner scandal named Park Service’s acting director

A National Park Service (NPS) official accused of helping Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder improperly cut down trees has been named the acting director of the agency.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced the promotion of Deputy Director Dan Smith on Wednesday.

“Dan has a strong record of leadership in the National Park Service both in Washington and on the front lines as a superintendent of a park that tells the stories of some of the most consequential moments in American history,” Zinke said in a statement.

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“I can think of no one better equipped to help lead our efforts to ensure that the National Park Service is on firm footing to preserve and protect the most spectacular places in the United States for future generations.”

A 2006 report by Interior’s inspector general (IG) concluded that Smith, then a high-ranking adviser to NPS Director Fran Mainella, repeatedly pressured lower-level officials to allow Snyder to cut down trees separating his Maryland mansion from the Potomac River.

The trees were on Snyder’s property but subject to an NPS easement for historic preservation. Snyder wanted to improve the view of the river, and Smith repeatedly met with him at his home as Snyder was trying to get approval to remove the trees.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park eventually relented, but the IG said that should not have happened.

“Smith inappropriately used his position to apply pressure and circumvent NPS procedures, on Snyder’s behalf, through his personal connections with park officials and Mr. Snyder and his representatives,” the IG concluded.

Smith retired from the NPS in 2014 after decades working at the agency, most recently as superintendent of the Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia. He came back this month to be deputy director.

The agency’s plan to name Smith acting director was first reported earlier in January by National Parks Traveler.

Michael Reynolds had been serving as acting NPS director since the previous director, Jonathan Jarvis, left in 2016.

Reynolds, a long-time NPS veteran, was named superintendent of Yosemite National Park, one of the top park-level jobs in the agency.

The Trump administration has not nominated a permanent NPS director, a position that requires Senate confirmation.