Pesticide limits may help salmon

Federal wildlife stewards have issued new rules limiting the use of three common pesticides now considered culprits in the decline of the Pacific Coast’s salmon and steelhead runs.

The decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which comes after nearly a decade of jousting between environmentalists and the federal government, concludes that the insecticides diazinon, Malathion and chlorpyrifos jeopardize the famed but imperiled migratory fish.

Under the new measures, which must be implemented within a year, the chemicals cannot be applied by air within 1,000 feet of salmon waters. Ground application is restricted to beyond 500 feet, and all applications are prohibited in winds of 10 mph or more.

The new rules follow the release this summer of a study that found “overwhelming evidence” that use of the pesticides is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of 28 salmon stocks off the West Coast.

-- Eric Bailey