Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner on Wednesday introduced the Sage-Grouse Protection and Conservation Act in Congress — an effort to ban the federal government from listing the imperiled greater sage grouse as endangered.

The act would give states at least six more years to implement state-created conservation and management plans to save the grouse without federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. It would require federal biologists to share scientific data with states and help states craft and carry out plans. States would still have an option of deferring to the federal government.

“Western states have invested time and resources into developing conservation plans since 2011, and the bipartisan Western Governors Association has repeatedly expressed support for a state-based approach,” Gardner said in a prepared statement.

“Now the time has come for the federal government to allow these states to put their plans into action, protecting the sage-grouse while mitigating any negative effects on jobs and our economy.”

A number of groups came out against Gardner’s act, including the National Wildlife Federation, the Western Values Project, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the Wildlife Management Institute.

“Delaying the decision on the greater sage-grouse will only serve to diminish the current momentum across the west to conserve this iconic species,” former USFWS director Steve Williams, who now is the president of the Wildlife Management Institute, said in a statement Wednesday. “Conservation actions planned and on the ground today trump promises for the future. Based on my experience as a former Fish and Wildlife Service director, my concern is that a legislative delay will slow the work that is being carried out by ranchers, farmers, industry, and conservationists, leading to further declines in the species’ numbers.”

The congressional intervention comes as the federal government and states tussle over protection for greater sage grouse across a Texas-sized area of the West.

The Fish and Wildlife Service must decide, before a court-ordered Sept. 30 deadline, whether grouse require federal Endangered Species Act protection.

“As we’ve seen with the bistate sage grouse, when local efforts are allowed to work without disruption caused by legislation, communities can conserve habitat and the bird, have economic growth and opportunity, and give the Service the confidence to conclude that the protections of the Endangered Species Act are not needed based on sound science,” U.S. Department of Interior spokeswoman Jessica Kershaw said.

“The time to address the threats to sagebrush habitat is now – not five or ten years from now, when the West is more fragmented, wildfires are more intense, or invasive species have gained more ground. We will continue our work with the states, ranchers, sportsmen, industry, and other stakeholders who are putting effective conservation measures in place with the shared goal of reaching a ‘not warranted’ determination at the end of the fiscal year.”

The agency in 2010 determined that greater sage grouse merit federal protection but deferred action due to other priorities. At the time, Fish and Wildlife officials urged states to work swiftly to try to reduce the need for listing grouse as endangered within five years.

Conservation Colorado executive director Pete Maysmith released a statement that the group was “extremely disappointed” in Gardner’s legislation to delay the listing.

“This bill is completely unnecessary and only creates more uncertainty for the stakeholders and states that have been working diligently with federal agencies to develop and implement conservation plans to avoid an ESA listing,” Maysmith said in a news release. “Senator Gardner should work to support the state plans rather than toss them aside in favor of this bill.”

Grouse once numbered in the millions but have declined rapidly since 1985 to an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 due to agriculture, housing and industrial development. Eleven states including Colorado are pressing for a “not warranted” decision that would leave it to states to set limits on human activity across those 165 million acres where grouse have survived.

Groups supporting Gardner’s effort to bypass ESA protection include: Colorado Farm Bureau, Western Energy Alliance, Public Lands Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Colorado Mining Association and Utah Mining Association

Gardner said hopes the stand-alone legislation will get a hearing soon in the Senate environment and public works committee.

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