Top Park Service Official Reprimanded in Deal With Dan Snyder

POTOMAC, Md. (AP) - An internal investigation by the Interior Department's inspector general shows a high-ranking National Park Service official improperly helped Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder remove 130 trees to clear his view of the Potomac River.

According to the report, obtained by The Washington Post, Daniel Smith, then special assistant to the Park Service director, pressured lower-level officials to strike a deal with Snyder that disregarded environmental laws.

Smith was reprimanded but is now superintendent of Colonial National Historical Park.

The report does not accuse Snyder of any wrongdoing. He has replaced the mature, nonnative trees with more than 600 native saplings.

But the removal of the trees continues to cause problems. The hill behind Snyder's house has begun eroding, and Snyder is now trying to get approval to shore up a retaining wall before the hill crumbles into the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)