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| Giant earthworm may wiggle onto endangered list |
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| Written by Nathan Foster -Argonaut | ||||||
| Tuesday, 19 September 2006 | ||||||
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The three foot-long, lily-scented, spitting Giant Palouse Earthworm is drawing near to extinction, said a coalition of Palouse citizens. The coalition petitioned the U.S. Department of Interior Aug. 30 to add the Giant Palouse Earthworm to the Endangered Species Act. The agency is required by law to respond to the petition within 90 days, the coalition’s press release said. “This worm is the stuff that legends and fairy tales are made of,” said Steve Paulson, co-author of the petition. “What kid wouldn’t want to play with a three foot-long, lily-smelling, soft pink worm that spits?” According to the petition, current farming practices primarily destroy the giant earthworm’s habitat. Unless the government protects it as an endangered species, the petition states, the worm faces an “imminent threat” to its survival on the Palouse. Nobody knows the value of the Giant Palouse Earthworm, said Paul Warnick, University of Idaho Arboreta superintendent. Warnick also serves as vice president of the Palouse Prairie Foundation, the co-signers of the petition. “I think we should try to preserve any endangered species,” Warnick said. “That just seems like a no-brainer to me.” Other groups to sign the petition are the Palouse Prairie Foundation, the Palouse Audubon Society and the Friends of the Clearwater. Less than one percent of Palouse prairie land remains unaltered. The biggest threats to Palouse prairie land comes from agriculture, according to the petition. UI graduate student Yanira Sanchez-de Leon found the latest specimen of the giant earthworm May 27, 2005 at Washington State University’s Smoot Hill Ecological Preserve. An Oregon entomologist confirmed the sighting Jan. 30. Former UI students Paul Johnson and James “Ding” Johnson were the first to report seeing the worm around 1986. James Johnson is now head of the department of plant, soil and entomological sciences. The earthworm reportedly grows as long as three feet, smells of lilies, boroughs up to 15 feet deep and “spits” when handled. To date, only six sightings have been recorded, according to information published on palouseprairie.org. Scientists don’t know the worm’s burrowing behavior and distribution across the Palouse, said Jodi Johnson-Maynard, UI assistant professor of soil and water management. “Not much is known about the species at all,” Johnson-Maynard told The Argonaut Feb. 10. Sanchez-de Leon and Johnson-Maynard plan to search for the worm next spring. They will use electrical currents to bring the worms to the surface. Sanchez-de Leon said to protect the worm, others should not look for it on their own.  Add as favorites (104) | Views: 1545
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