The federal Department of the Interior has overturned a 70-year-old ban on loaded weapons in national parks and wildlife refuges.

It's a parting shot at the gun-control crowd from the Bush administration, a move designed to burnish Bush's Second-Amendment legacy and advance the pro-gun agenda. And the wildlife that inhabit our national parks, the 300 million people who visit a park each year and the rangers charged with protecting the public and these hallowed grounds are caught in the crossfire.

Under the new rule, propagated by the National Rifle Association and supported by 47 U.S. senators including Republicans Bob Bennett and Orrin Hatch of Utah, persons possessing concealed weapons permits can now carry loaded guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. The old rule required that all firearms be unloaded and stored in an inaccessible place, usually the trunk of a vehicle, except where hunting was allowed.

The new policy is dangerous, a loaded gun literally and figuratively, according to groups that opposed the rule change, including the National Parks Conservation Association and the Association of National Park Rangers.

Our national parks are among the safest places in the nation. In 2006, according to FBI statistics, there were just 1.65 violent crimes per 100,000 visitors. But roadside and campground disputes are routine, and when you add loaded and accessible firearms into the equation, deadly altercations could become more common.

Also, the rule will ruin the experience for many guests who, unaccustomed to the open display of firearms, encounter gun-toting hikers on the trail.

Wildlife will also suffer. Poaching, according to the National Park Service, has contributed to the decline of 29 wildlife species in the parks. In 2006, 406 incidents were reported despite the firearms ban.

Now, with visitors free to carry guns, impulse and opportunistic killing of wildlife, along with firearms-related vandalism, will increase dramatically. Professional poachers, who sell animal parts on the black market, will operate with near impunity. And armed visitors will be more likely to approach animals, resulting in unnecessary confrontations and the needless destruction of wildlife.

Proponents of the rule change claim the old regulations infringed on the Second Amendment rights of thousands of law-abiding gun owners. But what about the rights of millions of visitors to view wildlife and enjoy a safe vacation? The Obama administration should shoot the new rule down before more damage is done.