Visitors to Oregon’s wildlife refuges and one national park would be allowed to carry concealed guns while enjoying the wonders of nature if a proposed federal rule is put in place.

The proposal, put forth by the Department of the Interior, would change the rules about concealed firearms on federal lands to mirror individual state laws.

The Department of the Interior announced Wednesday the beginning of a 60-day public comment period on the proposed regulation, after which the rule change will be decided upon.

While 48 states allow residents to carry concealed weapons, the proposal to allow them in wildlife refuges prompted differing responses Thursday from Or-egon’s U.S. senators.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the rule change is not needed.

“We are unaware of any urgent need to better arm visitors to our national parks,” said spokesman Tom Towslee. “This appears to be a solution in search of a problem.”

Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., has come out in support of the change, calling the current regulations “badly out of touch with state law,” in an e-mail to The Bulletin.

That was the goal behind the proposal to change federal regulations, said Chris Paolino, a spokesman for the Department of the Interior.

“So what we are doing is recognizing the state laws and bringing into conformity the federal regulations,” Paolino said.

As things stand now, visitors to Crater Lake National Park can bring firearms but cannot access or use them.

“Presently, it isn’t really a major issue in the park because folks can bring weapons into the park. They just need to break them down and keep them in their trunk,” said park spokesman Michael Justin.

And it is illegal to discharge a firearm inside the park, he said, which would not change if the new rule went into effect.

In Oregon’s wildlife refuges, current regulations generally prohibit operable or loaded firearms.

But like many states, firearms are allowed in the refuges in designated areas during the hunting season.

Paolino said officials decided to revisit the federal regulations because they hadn’t been revamped in more than two decades.

“The old regulations are over 25 years old, and in that time, many states have passed new firearms legislation,” he said. “Our regulations didn’t in any way account for that, so it was time for an update.”

Paolino noted that prohibitions on discharging firearms in national parks and refuges, as well as those against killing animals, remain in place.

“So it just allows a person to bring it in. That doesn’t mean you can pull it out, wave it around or discharge it,” he said.

And those who do not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon would still need to render their firearms inoperable and store them, Paolino said.

The proposed federal rule change would not affect people who want to carry firearms in Oregon state parks or in national forests.

Both allow visitors to carry concealed weapons with a permit.

In national forests in Oregon, recreationists can shoot firearms subject to specific rules, said Virginia Gibbons, a spokesperson for the Deschutes and Ochoco national forests.

Visitors to the forest cannot discharge a weapon within 150 yards of a developed recreation site. They also cannot shoot across a road or a body of water, Gibbons said.

While it is not a hard and fast rule, hunters and target shooters are encouraged to shoot into a barrier like a hill or embankment, Gibbons said.

The public comment period on the proposed federal regulation change will close June 30.

To comment

To comment on a proposed rule to allow concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges:

• Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter 1024-AD70 under the “Comment or Submission” tab and click “Go.”

• Send mail to Public Comments Processing, Attn: 1024-AD70; Division of Policy and Directives Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 222, Arlington, VA 22203.

The full text of the proposed rule change to allow concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges can be found at www.doi.gov.

The full text of the proposed rule change to allow concealed weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges can be found at www.doi.gov.