Giant Worm

From the stories circulating around you would think that the giant Palouse earthworm was the stuff made of legends; a body length of at least five feet, leaving trails and holes in the earth that would swallow medium sized dogs or small children. None of that is true of course and in fact pictures of the giant Palouse earthworm show it to be not nearly as impressive as some night crawlers we used to dig up back in Kansas. The picture provided by the University of Idaho of an adult worm showed it stretched to its full length of ten to twelve inches. What a disappointment. The federal government obviously felt the same when they denied environmental groups an endangered species listing for the giant Palouse earthworm. Environmental groups are upset and will probably pursue the matter but for now farmers and ranchers can rest easy that the business of agriculture in the Palouse region can continue on as usual. And the giant Palouse earthworm? It will probably continue on as usual also, fifteen to twenty feet underground, unaware of the "giant" legal battle that has been waging on in its behalf.