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JACKSON — National Forests in Mississippi are implementing safety rules to better protect hunters and align with already existing state regulations. United States Forestry Service’s Mississippi office issued the order last week.

Safety regulations in this order include

• prohibiting the possession or consumption of an alcoholic beverage while in possession of any weapon;
• prohibiting hunting hogs without wearing a minimum of 500 square inches of solid unbroken fluorescent orange during hunting season, and prohibiting hunting quail or rabbits without wearing a solid hunter orange vest or cap (Existing Mississippi law requires hunters to wear hunter orange while hunting deer);
• prohibiting the shooting of any projectile across the exterior forest boundary lines;
• prohibiting the possession or transportation of an uncased shoulder-fired weapon in a motor vehicle;
• and prohibiting the possession of a loaded shoulder-fired weapon within 100 feet of the center line of any designated road.

The order covers all national forests in Mississippi until February 1, 2026.

“These actions will help provide all forest visitors with a safer experience on the forest. Hunters should be familiar with these requirements. They mirror existing regulations on state Wildlife Management Areas,” National Forests in Mississippi Forest Supervisor Shannon Kelardy said.

Visitors of national forests in Mississippi can contact the ranger district offices in Bienville, Chickasawhay, Delta, De Soto, Holly Springs, Homochitto, and Tombigbee National Forests.