Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Terry,
In MS can you
1) Road cruise?, or
2) walk the right of way?
3) and is there state and or federal land available to Herpers?

Thanks in advance

Joe,

In Mississippi you can do all of these things with no hassle whatsoever. The exception would be our protected species, of course. Collecting reptiles and amphibians is legal on all state wildlife management areas with a valid hunting & fishing license. After all, they were set aside and are managed for the consumptive activities of the tax paying citizens of Mississippi. Wardens are all college graduates and more times than not, show a real interest in non-game wildlife.

State parks require a scientific collecting permit. As far as federal sanctuaries such as the Sandhill Crane Refuge or the Natchez Trace Parkway, you need federal permits.

If you are a visitor to the Magnolia State, you are required to purchase an out-of-state hunting & fishing license. The cost is reciprical with the purchaser's home state's prices. If New York charges $100 for an out-of-state license to a Mississippi sportsman, that's what we charge a New York sportsman. If Texas charges $45.....that's what we charge.

Now granted, in Mississippi we mostly shoot snakes! That is, we do not have the great numbers of amateur herp enthusiests that Texas, California, and Florida have. Still we have enough that sensible legislation was in order. As I mentioned in my earlier post, we made it illegal to collect non-game wildlife for commercial purposes. By doing so we stopped the planned rattlesnake round-ups DEAD IN THEIR TRACKS and stopped (or greatly curtailed) the commercial trade in alligator snapping turtles which were being shipped by the tons to the New Orleans markets.

Hope than answers your questions.

Cheers,

Terry Vandeventer