Posted on 09/08/2006 2:26:55 PM PDT by Drew68
SPOKANE, Wash. --It's 3 feet long, pinkish in color, smells like a lily and must be saved from extinction, conservationists said Thursday in asking the federal government to protect the Giant Palouse Earthworm under the Endangered Species Act.
Long thought extinct, the worm was rediscovered in the past year to occupy tiny swatches of the heavily farmed Palouse region along the Washington-Idaho border.
"This worm is the stuff that legends and fairy tales are made of," worm supporter Steve Paulson declared. "What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?"
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not yet seen the petition regarding Driloleirus americanus, agency spokesman Tom Buckley said in Spokane.
Normally when the agency gets a request, it will consider whether an emergency listing is needed. Then it will do a 90-day review to determine if the issue warrants additional study, Buckley said.
If it deserves more study, there will be a year long review to decide if endangered species protection is needed, Buckley said.
"When you consider how the Palouse prairie has been utilized, with all the agriculture down there, how anything like that survived the effects of agriculture is beyond me," Buckley said.
He can also see other reasons the worm might need protection.
"If you are a fisherman, it might be a bonanza if you found something like that," Buckley said.
The petition was sent by certified letter on Aug. 30 to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, a former Idaho governor, said Paulson, an author of the petition who lives in Lenore, Idaho.
It's too soon to know if anyone will object to the listing, or what lands might be considered critical habitat, Paulson said.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Playing with a long, pink worm that spits. Oh, Lord, there's waaaay too many jokes here!
A metrosexuals dream.
Ya don't say!
Pull my finger.
I'll wait until somebody posts a Dune picture.
I'd have to ask my wife if it smells like lilies.
"Long thought extinct, the worm was rediscovered in the past year to occupy tiny swatches of the heavily farmed Palouse region along the Washington-Idaho border."
Wouldn't you know, this thing would HAVE to be rediscovered in the Green Haven of the world.
WA ST info
You mean your giant pink worm isn't long enough to smell it yourself?
Shhh... Don't tell anyone!
Way too many
Good thing it was only water on the screen and keyboard this time.
The giant worm IS being protected.
ABC made cuts to "The Path to 9/11."
Just another group wanting to protect Hillary?
There's a gay weatherman who's afraid of bugs who wouldn't mind
Answer: Global worming.
Count me in!
When Frank Smith first unearthed this giant earthworm near Pullman in 1897, he named it Megascolides americanus, thinking that it was closely related to Australia's fifteen-foot worms (Megascolides australis). Although dwarfed by its Australian counterpart, the three-foot long Palouse is certainly a giant among worms. This species, really only distantly related to Megascolides, was renamed Driloleirus which means "lily-like worm," reflecting the peculiar flowery aroma that it emits when handled. Since its initial discovery, very few other sightings of this species have been documented. The giant Palouse earthworms live in the deep, rich soils of the Palouse bunchgrass prairies. Thick layers of organic matter that have accumulated in the soils of the Palouse for hundreds of years sustain the giants during the wetter seasons. During summer droughts, the worms dig burrows as deep as fifteen feet, conserving water with specialized kidney-like organs, called nephridia. Farmers that arrived in eastern Washington prized the fertile Palouse soils, resulting in the almost complete destruction of the bunchgrass prairies that characterized this region by the late 1800's. Today, the Palouse prairies are considered to be the rarest ecosystem in Washington. The biggest threat to these elusive giants continues to be habitat destruction due to agriculture and development, but the introduction of the now widespread European earthworm has also helped to further the decline of our native Palouse worm. A documented sighting of this rare creature has not been recorded since 1978, when one was unearthed in the Palouse country of Washington State.
Burt Gummer: No tracks, no sign, no spoor... you'd think after eating all those sheep they'd have to take a dump *some*place
Oh. I thought this was another thread about the "Path to 9-11".
His anti-tank rifle in Tremors II is hilarious.
""What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?""
Gotta send that in to maxxim.
With stupid statements like that, there's probably a lot that's beyond you Mr. Buckley.
LOL. Bert knew what do with with worms....
I know that if I had such a worm, I'd prefer to give it a lot of exercise.
Sorry, no self-service here.
Actual quote from the article.
I was actually trying to avoid this thread. LOL!
Let's Go Fishin' ;0)
I hate to do this, but, ah, ping.
Steve, Get a LIFE!!!
"What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?"
Really, really unfortunate choice of words, there, Mr. "worm supporter," lol.
If he can't smell it, he's either really tall or has a bad neck....
"What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?"
Gotta be an Eric Cartman joke here somewhere.
Bill Clinton is hella jealous.
"What kid wouldn't want to play with a 3 foot-long, lily smelling, soft pink worm that spits?"
Are we sure this guy doesn't need to be kept away from kids?
"When you consider how the Palouse prairie has been utilized, with all the agriculture down there, how anything like that survived the effects of agriculture is beyond me," Buckley said."
DUH!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe because agriculture and whatever those folks are doing is no big deal to the critters!
"Are we sure this guy doesn't need to be kept away from kids?"
He did equate it with a fairy tale, didn't he?
If its too damn big to fish with then it is worthless...........
Truth be told, my giant pink worm isn't quite three feet long either.
And my wife is thankful for that.
Description: Large, pinkish-white earthworm up to two-feet long (smells like lilies)
Threats: Habitat loss, non-native species
Overview: When Frank Smith first unearthed this giant earthworm near Pullman in 1897, he named it Megascolides americanus, thinking that it was closely related to Australia's fifteen-foot worms (Megascolides australis). Although dwarfed by its Australian counterpart, the three-foot long Palouse is certainly a giant among worms. This species, really only distantly related to Megascolides, was renamed Driloleirus which means "lily-like worm," reflecting the peculiar flowery aroma that it emits when handled. Since its initial discovery, very few other sightings of this species have been documented. The giant Palouse earthworms live in the deep, rich soils of the Palouse bunchgrass prairies. Thick layers of organic matter that have accumulated in the soils of the Palouse for hundreds of years sustain the giants during the wetter seasons. During summer droughts, the worms dig burrows as deep as fifteen feet, conserving water with specialized kidney-like organs, called nephridia. Farmers that arrived in eastern Washington prized the fertile Palouse soils, resulting in the almost complete destruction of the bunchgrass prairies that characterized this region by the late 1800's. Today, the Palouse prairies are considered to be the rarest ecosystem in Washington. The biggest threat to these elusive giants continues to be habitat destruction due to agriculture and development, but the introduction of the now widespread European earthworm has also helped to further the decline of our native Palouse worm. A documented sighting of this rare creature has not been recorded since 1978, when one was unearthed in the Palouse country of Washington State.
Distribution: The Palouse is an area of rolling dune-like hills and rich farmland in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.
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