"The federal government, acting to protect endangered fish, is setting up new rules to limit where and when orchardists, farmers and others can use some common pesticides.

More than half of Oregon is drained by a creek or river relevant to one of the 28 federally protected Pacific salmon runs. Because pesticides that run off from agricultural lands have been shown to harm the fish, the government is obligated to regulate their use.

The rules, coming from the Environmental Protection Agency, follow from a decision last year by the National Marine Fisheries Service to require limits on three common pesticides -- chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion -- in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California."

Matthew Preusch reports for the Portland Oregonian September 11, 2009. [2]