Palouse worm again denied Endangered protection

A live Palouse Earthworm stretches across the hands of a University of Idaho researcher in this file photo from the UI.

The Giant Palouse Earthworm will continue to live without protection.

The United States Fish and Wildlife service Monday denied a second petition to list the worm as an endangered species.

Robyn Thorson, fish and wildlife’s Pacific Region director, said in a statement Monday that the agency needed more information before it could act on the request.

Citing confirmed sightings of the worm near Leavenworth, the federal agency said it did not know enough about the worm’s habitat, or if that habitat is threatened, to list the worm.

Protection of the worm as an endangered species was sought by the Friends of the Clearwater, Center for Biological Diversity, Palouse Audubon, Palouse Prairie Foundation and the Palouse Group of the Sierra Club.

Gary Macfarlane, ecosystem defense director for Friends of the Clearwater, said the ruling was expected.

“That’s about what we expected them to do,” Macfarlane said Tuesday. “The fact that we don’t have enough information about the worm is exactly the reason it should be listed.”

The five groups petitioned to have the worm listed in 2007, but that petition was also rejected because the agency said it did not have enough information.

Macfarlane said the group is going to review the ruling before considering if it will petition again for the worm’s protection.

First reported in 1897, live specimens of the worm were found last year by University of Idaho researchers Shan Xu and Karl Umiker on Paradise Ridge. The researchers were working under a grant from the USFW.

That was the first time the worm had been seen alive since it was found near Moscow in 1988. Others have been found dead, including a 2005 discovery on WSU’s Smoot Hill.

Legend had the worm as big as three feet long with the ability to spit at predators and an odor of lilies.

The adult worms found last year measured just under a foot, had no smell, did not spit and had a translucent pinkish-white color.

Jodi Johnson-Maynard, assistant professor of soil and water quality with the University of Idaho, said the worms found last year are still alive in her laboratory.

The worms are stored in a large Ziploc-style bag, kept with soil and plant material which is kept in a larger container to keep control of the temperature and light.