With the population of the giant, aggressive brown bears spilling outside the Yellowstone borders, hunters expressed hopes Tuesday that they would be allowed to stalk and shoot the once-endangered animals following the government move.

"It's time they became part of the food chain," said Bounty Hunter of the Spotted Horse Ranch. "I can't see any other way."

"Not often do I agree with the government, but I think they might be on the right track here," said 37-year-old John Turner, a hunter who lives on his family's ranch in the heart of grizzly territory in the state of Wyoming.

Hunted to near extinction in the US Rocky Mountain territory, grizzlies were declared an endangered species in 1975 throughout the western states and given special protection.

After 30 years, the population in Yellowstone -- which straddles the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming -- has risen from about 200 in 1982 to more than 600 today, say government and park experts.

"The greater Yellowstone's population of grizzlies, a population that once was plummeting toward extinction, has now recovered," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

"These bears are no longer in danger," Norton told a press conference.

Often described as fearless, grizzlies are one of the world's largest land predators, the same species as Alaska's massive brown bears.

Since the recovery of the Yellowstone population, there have been more sightings and confrontations with the animals outside the park's borders, where hunting of other wildlife is permitted.

Normally feeding on elk calves in breeding season, the bears are now so accustomed to feasting on "gut piles", the remains of prey left by hunters, that the beasts now react to rifle shots as though they were dinner bells, hunters said.

The frequency of run-ins between hunters and grizzlies in Yellowstone-area back country has convinced Turner there are more bears than US officials estimated, good reason to allow hunting of them.

"We have a healthy enough population of grizzlies. Delisting them isn't going to hurt the bears at all, it is going to allow some management," said Turner.

But not everyone agrees with delisting the bears, even though inside the park they will remain protected from hunting.

The environmental group Sierra Club warned against "gambling with the bears' future" by stripping their special status.

"A tremendous public investment ... has paid off," Sierra Club director Carl Pope said in a written release. "Taking away these protections will put the last remnants of wild places grizzlies need to fully recover and raise their young at risk from irresponsible oil drilling, unsustainable logging and sprawling development."

There will be 90 days of public consultation before the proposal to lift their protection in the greater Yellowstone area is approved. The decision probably will not take effect before late 2006, Interior Department officials said.

Once enacted, state authorities in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming would be charged with managing grizzlies outside of Yellowstone, including authorizing limited grizzly hunting.

"This great icon of the American West now has a promising future. Our grandchildren's grandchildren will see grizzly bears roaming in mountains, forests and rivers in the Yellowstone area," Norton said.

Grizzly bears in other US regions are to remain on the federal protection list.

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