WASHINGTON — A retired park superintendent who gained notoriety after helping Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder cut down trees near his home has been named acting director of the National Park Service.
P. Daniel Smith, a former superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia, replaces acting Director Michael Reynolds, who clashed with President Donald Trump over photographs showing the crowd size at Trump’s inauguration.
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Smith’s promotion Wednesday, two weeks after naming Smith as one of the agency’s deputy directors. Reynolds, whose tenure as acting chief was time-limited by federal rules, was reassigned; his new post is superintendent of Yosemite National Park in California.
On his first full day in office, Trump called Reynolds to dispute widely circulated photos of the inauguration and ordered him to produce additional photographs of the previous day’s crowds on the National Mall.
Smith gained notoriety a decade ago after helping Snyder, the Redskins owner, cut down trees near his home along the Potomac River.