FEDS SAY NO TO LISTING FISH AS ENDANGERED : SANTA ANA SUCKER IS `AT RISK'.

Byline: Daily News staff and wire services

Sorry, sucker.

The Santa Ana sucker, a fat-lipped fish found in the Santa Clara River that vacuums scum from stream beds, is threatened with extinction but won't be listed as endangered because other species are in more jeopardy, officials said.

``It's our conclusion that we should propose it for listing,'' Paul Barrett, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said Wednesday. ``But we have such a large workload that it's not the highest priority. When we close the books on those, we'll work on this one.''

Shawna Bautista, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service's Saugus ranger district, said the Santa Ana sucker needs to be protected as soon as other more endangered species get their turn.

``It's certainly at risk,'' Bautista said Thursday.

A number of urbanization factors have cut into the fish's habitat since the 1970s, Bautista said, naming impacts such as water diversion, channelization, mining, construction and heavy recreational use.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific region - covering California, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Washington - oversees more than 100 endangered species with a higher priority, Barrett said.

Ron Bortorff, president of the Friends of Santa Clara River, said the fish is found in the river from the Golden State Freeway out to the estuary near the ocean. He said he didn't know enough about the biological reasons for the decision to make a judgment on its status.

``As far as moving it from one category to another, that's a very technical decision,'' Bortorff said.

Since it is listed as a species of concern by both state and federal agencies, it must be included in development studies, such as the one done for Newhall Ranch. In the environmental reports done for the planned 70,000-population community, the Santa Ana sucker is listed among the species that could be affected by the reduced water quality and water flow in the river as a result of the Newhall Ranch project.

But the presence of the Santa Ana sucker poses no threat to the Newhall Ranch project, according to the environmental reports.

The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, representing several environmental groups, requested in 1994 that the fish be considered for protection. A court ordered that the Fish and Wildlife Service make a preliminary determination by March 28.

Defense fund attorney Hank Bates said his clients, who are concerned about the fish and their habitat, are considering their options, including whether to return to court.

``It's clear this is part of the same pattern of practice - ignoring their requirements of law and ignoring the suckers' plight,'' he said.

The sucker has lived in the Los Angeles, San Gabriel and Santa Ana river streams. Urbanization, dams, water diversions, pollution and non-native fish have significantly reduced its population, which was listed as common as late as the 1970s.

Barrett said population numbers are not available, but the sucker's decline can be measured by its diminishing habitat.

The fish now lives in four areas: the Santa Clara River, which stretches from Acton to Oxnard; the headwaters of the San Gabriel River; Big Tujunga Creek in the Los Angeles River basin; and portions of the Santa Ana River.

Barrett said biologists do not expect the sucker population to disappear completely because some still live in Angeles National Forest, where they are protected from urbanization.

``If we think that it's an extremely imminent event, we could go forward with an emergency listing,'' he said.

``But we don't think something's going to happen tonight.''

With its large lips and small mouth, the sucker usually lives in cool, clean and clear water, although it can tolerate seasonal variations. It eats algae and invertebrates living on stream beds.

Bautista said the Santa Ana sucker is the only sucker fish remaining in Southern California. It can grow to nearly 10 inches, making it ``a pretty hefty fish for our natural streams,'' she said.

Researchers are not sure what role it plays in the region's ecology.

``It's part of our natural heritage and biodiversity,'' Barrett said. ``We're not sure how it fits in, but we don't want to throw away parts. Once it's gone, it's gone for good.''