U.S. Invites More Input on Rare Fish

People who feel strongly about the fate of the Santa Ana sucker have another chance to speak out, thanks to an oversight by the federal government.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Thursday that it will reopen public comment until Jan. 3 on its proposal to list the rare Southland fish as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

“Our field office neglected to publish the legal notice in a newspaper” announcing a 60-day public comment period, Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Joan Jewett said.

The notice should have been published in January, when the department proposed listing the 6-inch-long fish. The public comment period ended in March, and although press releases were sent to news media and government outlets, no legal notification was published, as required by federal law.

Government officials said they discovered the oversight recently while preparing documents on the matter. “It was an inadvertent error,” spokesman Jim Bartel said. “We were supposed to have done it.”

To make things right, he said, the Fish and Wildlife Service will publish the legal notice in two Southern California newspapers and reopen the period of public comment. Those with comments should address them to Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, 2730 Loker Ave. West, Carlsbad, CA 92008.

Federal officials have until Jan. 26 to make a decision on the proposal to put the fish on the list of threatened species.

Once common in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana river channels, the rare fish--small to medium in size with thick lips and a tiny mouth--is now found only in the headwaters of the San Gabriel River system, Big Tujunga Creek in the Los Angeles River Basin, portions of the Santa Ana River and parts of the Santa Clara River system in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

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Santa Ana Sucker, Catostomus santannae

* Description: Small to medium in size with large thick lips and small mouth used to vacuum algae and invertebrates from riverbeds and streams.

* Lifespan: Two to three years.

* Preferred habitat: Clear, cool rocky pools and creeks; small to medium rivers.

* Historic range: Once common in Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana river drainages and in small, shallow freshwater streams.

* Current range: Headwaters of San Gabriel River system., Big Tujunga Creek in Los Angeles River Basin, portions of the Santa Ana River, and parts of the Santa Clara River system in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

* Decline caused by: Water diversions, dams, extreme alterations of stream channels, erosion, debris, torrents, pollution, heavy recreational use of waterways. Also, nonnative species that prey on suckers and compete for habitat.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service