Friday, May 02, 2008
GLOBAL WORMING
An environmental breakthrough at the property of reader Lee Matthews:
The giant Palouse earthworm is still among the Northwest’s rarest inhabitants, but two new discoveries suggest the native wigglers might be a bit more abundant than previously thought ...
Seattleite Lee Matthews, who collected the Leavenworth specimen, said he’s seen several odd worms since buying his property near the Bavarian-themed town in 1991. One of his first sightings came as he chipped away at a dirt bank to widen a roadway. A chunk of clay broke off and he saw something white.
"It was big enough that we thought it was a white snake,” he said. “There must have been 12 to 16 inches sticking out."
He’s seen one or two of the worms nearly every year, usually in wet weather.
"I haven’t been hunting for these worms,” he said. “They just pop up."
Freaky worm information: Lee FedExed his mighty invertebrate to University of Idaho wormalists.