Dan Smith is coming out of retirement to serve as a deputy director of the National Park Service/NPS

A former National Park Service official who was found to have ignored Park Service regulations and pushed through a permit to allow the owner of the Washington Redskins to cut down trees in a scenic easement along Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park on Tuesday was appointed to help lead the agency.

Paul Daniel Smith "will have a crucial role in leading more than 20,000 National Park Service employees who care for America's 417 national parks and NPS programs," an Interior Department release said.

"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,” said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “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.”

Mr. Smith retired in 2014 after 10 years as superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia. National Parks Traveler  broke the story  last week that he would return to help lead the Park Service as deputy director, at least on a temporary basis as President Trump has yet to nominate a permanent Park Service director.

Before he went to Colonial, Mr. Smith was special assistant to then-NPS Director Fran Mainella. During that stint, he was found by the Interior Department's Inspector General to have "inappropriately used his position to apply pressure and circumvent NPS procedures" to permit Redskins owner Dan Snyder to have trees up to 6 inches wide at breast height on the easement cut down to improve the Potomac River view from his mansion.

According to the investigation by then-Inspector General Earl Devaney's staff, the Park Service failed to conduct the requisite environmental assessment as required by the NPS Director's Handbook before issuing the special user permit to Mr. Snyder.

Mr. Smith had become involved in the matter in 2002, according to the OIG report, and in 2004 called Chesapeake and Ohio Canal staff to say that, "Snyder was not happy with the pace of negotiations with NPS concerning the scenic easement."

"The C&O NHP Lands Coordinator admitted that after his conversation with Smith, he felt pressure to secure an agreement with Snyder," the report added. "He related that he met with Smith at least twice after the call, once at Snyder's residence in June 2004 and another time on the C&O Canal towpath below Snyder's residence."

In assessing the matter, Mr. Devaney wrote that, "our investigation also revealed the unprecedented decision to allow Mr. Snyder to cut on the easement resulted from the undue influence of P. Daniel Smith. Smith inappropriately used his position to apply pressure and circumvent NPS procedures, on Snyder's behalf, through his personal communications with park officials and Mr. Snyder and his representatives."

In a statement Tuesday, Mr. Smith said, "(I)t is an honor and a privilege to return to Washington, D.C., with the invaluable perspective from the field that I gained during my time as superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park.” 

When he joined the George W. Bush administration, Mr. Smith did so as a political appointee in the Interior Department. After the incident at Chesapeake and Ohio, he moved into the Park Service ranks as a superintendent on a career track.

During his stint at Colonial, Mr. Smith managed a 23-mile parkway and three historic sites, including the first permanent British colony in America at Jamestown and the site of the 1781 Revolutionary War victory of General George Washington over British General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. During his tenure at the park Smith oversaw the completion of a new visitor center and a research center at Jamestown in preparation for the 400th anniversary commemoration of the settlement in 2007.

Smith’s other assignments included serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Interior Department, where he was responsible for the multi-billion dollar budgets and programs of the National Park Service and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in coordination with congressional representatives, state and local governments, and other important partners.