Smith stepped down in the fall of 2019 under curious circumstances that led Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility to charge that Smith was given a sweetheart deal to allow Vela to return as acting NPS director. The deal allowed Smith to live in North Carolina and work from there as the National Park Service Commemorations Specialist leading Park Service efforts on the 250th anniversary of the country’s birth with office space at Guildford Courthouse National Military Park.
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