Giant Palouse Earthworms: They are alive, but are they endangered?

Discovery of live Giant Palouse Earthworms caught the attention of the national media last month. The worm was featured in the New York Times, dozens of regional publications and was defended on the Comedy Central series “The Colbert Report.”

The discovery may also lead to more movement in the efforts to have the worm listed as an endangered species.

“Now that there’s new information, there’s definitely the potential for a new petition to be filed,” said Gary Macfarlane with Friends of the Clearwater, one of several local conservation groups that petitioned the federal government in 2006 to pu...