Federal wildlife biologists said Tuesday they will consider protecting the native western bumblebee as an endangered species.

Once widespread, bumblebees have declined across western North America and, for at least one type, it may be too late.

A Defenders of Wildlife petition drove the decision by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials to launch a scientific review to determine whether bumblebees need federal protection to survive.

The petition declares western bumblebees at risk of extinction — hammered by habitat loss in the face of development and population growth, disease, pesticides and climate change.

“If we lose bumblebees, we’ve done ourselves some real damage,” Defenders attorney Jay Tutchton said. “The situation has deteriorated. There are areas of the country where there used to be bumblebees and they are now absent.”

A 2010 Xerces Society petition to protect Franklin’s bumblebee, related to the western bee, still is under review — and some scientists say these have disappeared.

“We’re concerned that the process not drag out too long. If it does, we could be losing an entire family of native bees, which would be very alarming to agriculture and environment interests alike,” Tutchton said.

Bees, including native bumblebees, play key roles as pollinators of flowering plants and agricultural crops from the Dakotas to California and Alaska to Mexico.

Measuring population densities of bees will be “unusual” because “the geographic range of the bee is so broad,” USFWS field supervisor Mark Sattelberg said.

Wildlife advocates in recent years have urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do more to try to stop the spread of disease to wild bees. They asked federal regulators to control commercial bumblebees and, in particular, prohibit transport of bumblebees beyond their native ranges. They contend commercial bumblebees should move between states only when certified as disease-free.

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700, bfinley@denverpost.com or @finleybruce