Regulations against carrying concealed weapons in national parks were eased Friday in an Interior Department ruling opposed by many retired and current park rangers.

The new rule will allow an individual to carry a loaded weapon in a national park or wildlife refuge if the person is licensed to carry a concealed weapon in the state where the park or refuge is located.

Area National Park Service attractions affected are the Vicksburg National Military Park, Delta National Forest in Issaquena and Sharkey counties, Tensas National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana and Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs through parts of the Jackson area. Three national parks in Wisconsin and Illinois, which do not permit concealed weapons, are exempt.

The existing regulations for firearms in national parks and refuges were established during the Reagan administration, and required that guns had to be unloaded and inaccessible, generally locked in the trunk of the vehicle.

Local NPS officials learned of the ruling late Friday afternoon, and were evaluating how it might affect tourists and staffers.

Since the ruling allows a concealed weapon only if the individual is authorized to carry it, “it will not have an overly dramatic impact on the Natchez Trace Parkway,” said Allen Etheridge, chief ranger for the 444-mile scenic road. “But officer safety is always a concern of ours.”

Etheridge pointed out that a number of NPS rangers have been killed by gunfire in parks across the country in the last 20 years, and that a Tennessee ranger shot and killed a poacher last month in self defense after the man aimed his rifle at him.

“Poaching is a serious problem and a major concern that we battle constantly,” Etheridge added.

In general, however, the national parks have a low crime rate and are some of the safest places in the country, he said.

The Web site for the National Rifle Association said the new regulation “recognizes the right of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families while enjoying America’s National Parks and wildlife refuges.”

The National Parks Conservation Association said in a press release Friday that former directors of the NPS, ranger organizations, retired superintendents and thousands of visitors opposed the change. Park rangers are the most assaulted federal officers in the country, and the new regulations will open more opportunities for poaching and resulting danger to them, the NPCA said.

Regarding public safety, the organization cites FBI statistics for 2006 that showed only 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 national park visitors. “The new regulation could increase the risk for impulse shootings of wildlife, and risk the safety of visitors and rangers,” the NPCA said.

VNMP acting superintendent Jerrel Cooper said that in his 33 years working at the park, he had never heard of a violent crime being committed there.

In issuing the Interior Department’s ruling, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Lyle Laverty said the department was making federal and state laws at the sites consistent, “by allowing individuals to carry concealed firearms in federal park units and refuges to the extent that they could lawfully do so under state law. This is the same approach adopted by the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service…”

“These changes respect the Second Amendment rights of honest citizens as they enjoy our public lands,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA. “We applaud the Interior Department’s efforts to amend these out of date regulations.”

In February, the Interior Department received letters from 51 senators, both Democrats and Republicans, asking that the firearm regulation be updated. Public comments — to the tune of 140,000 letters, according to the NPCA — were accepted until Aug. 8.

The ruling will be published in the National Register next week and take effect 30 days later.

Regulations against poaching, target practice and carrying weapons in federal buildings remain in effect.

Officials at the Delta National Forest and the Tensas National Wildlife Refuge were not available for comment.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com.