Colin Parry, the father of an IRA bomb victim, has paid tribute to Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan, who died on Monday (15.01.17).

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Laws in Idaho and Washington that allow people to salvage roadkill have yielded some benefits, according to wildlife officials in both states.

Idaho and Washington have passed laws allowing people to salvage roadkill, provided they fill out a short form with the state wildlife agency to get a permit.

Washington’s law, which took effect July 1, 2016, allows for deer and elk only, The Spokesman-Review reported. Between then and the end of 2017, 3,099 animals were salvaged off Washington roads, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

Idaho’s law, which took effect six years ago, is much broader, listing nearly 50 species of mammals and birds as salvageable. Most animals are fair game, provided they’re not endangered, threatened or otherwise protected by federal or state law.

Deer and elk top the list in Idaho. But Idaho residents have also hauled away 419 moose, 55 black bears, 51 wild turkeys and 39 beavers since the law went into effect.

Under a law passed last year, Oregon will begin allowing permit holders to salvage roadkill in 2019.

Salvagers don’t have to say what they intend to do with the animal. Gregg Servheen, the wildlife program coordinator at Idaho Fish and Game, said salvagers, in addition to eating, may be practicing taxidermy, looking for hides to display, gathering items for crafts or regalia or making their own fishing lures.

Idaho’s roadkill data is more detailed than Washington’s, with a greater variety of species and occasional notes from the salvager. The species is often a best guess from the salvager.

In Washington and Idaho, the locations of salvaged animals are reported by the people who take them home. People fill out the permit form online and have the option of clicking a point on a map or listing a highway and milepost.

Most of the animals end up along highways and major roads, as well as along smaller roads traveling through national forest land. Mapping Idaho’s roadkill produces a scattering of dots across Montana, Alberta and Oregon. Washington’s extends into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Aberdeen.

Wildlife officials in both states say they haven’t seen negative impacts from the law on other wildlife populations. Health districts haven’t complained, either.

Their hope is that having fewer carcasses sitting alongside the road will prompt raptors and scavengers to stay away. That might mean people see fewer eagles in the wild, but it doesn’t mean they’re not there.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers are considering a major change in how the state will go about reducing its contributions to climate change.

Right now, there’s nothing to stop a lot of Oregon businesses from pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Clean Energy Jobs Bill introduced last week would launch a cap and trade system that would limit some of those emissions and charge businesses for the right to pollute.

The system would be similar to existing programs in California and some Canadian provinces.

The state would set a cap on total greenhouse emissions, and about 100 companies in the state’s largest industries would be required to buy pollution permits to cover their emissions.

The bill requires permits for any business that emits more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. That includes a variety of large manufacturers, paper mills, fuel distributors and utilities.

Over time, the cap on emissions will come down and there will be fewer pollution permits available. So companies will have to reduce their emissions, spend more on permits or buy credits to offset their emissions.

This system would create a new marketplace for pollution credits that companies can buy and sell. It would be designed to link up with existing markets in California and Canadian provinces, so a company in Oregon could buy pollution credits from a business in California.

It also creates a market for offset projects, so a forest landowner in Oregon could sell the carbon sequestration credits from not cutting down trees. Buying an offset credit may be a cheaper option for companies that need to reduce their emissions or buy a pollution permit.

Creators of the bill call it a “cap and invest” program because the state could make an estimated $700 million a year from selling pollution permits. That money would then be invested in projects that expand public transit, solar power, electric vehicles and home energy efficiency upgrades that will help reduce the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The bill mandates reductions down to 80 percent of 1990 emission levels by 2050. Supporters say that’s the only way the state is ever going to meet its targets for reducing carbon emissions. Right now, the state is way behind on the climate goals it set in 2007.

“That’s what brings urgency to this,” said state Sen. Michael Dembrow, who helped create the bill as the chair of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee. “It’s very clear we’re not going to get there if we don’t have the discipline of a program that sets a cap each year and gradually brings us down.”

Environmental groups point to California’s cap and trade program and its recent renewal as proof that this kind of system can reduce emissions and generate revenue without hurting the economy.

A lot of industries are opposed to a cap and trade system in Oregon because they say it will inevitably raise prices for all kinds of energy, which affects businesses as well as the cost of living for everyday people.

Oregon Business & Industry, the Oregon Farm Bureau and Northwest Food Processors Association, which together represent thousands of businesses across the state, have all spoken out against the Clean Energy Jobs Bill.

“This legislation is harmful to farmers and ranchers in Oregon because it increases our cost of production and makes us less competitive,” said Jenny Dresler of the Oregon Farm Bureau. “Raising the price of gas, electricity and natural gas on everybody will simply make it harder for Oregon family farms to survive to the next generation.”

The bill is designed to address some of these concerns by setting revenue aside to help low-income families, displaced workers and rural areas adapt to the new policy and the effects of climate change.

There’s a chance the bill will pass this session but it will depend on what else lawmakers have to tackle. If Measure 101, the so-called health care “provider tax,” doesn’t pass, lawmakers will likely be too busy with health care issues to address cap and trade.

After months of work group sessions, though, lawmakers now have a detailed proposal to work with. The program isn’t scheduled to launch until 2021, so the Legislature could also pick it back up next year.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown issued a statement outlining her requirements for signing any bill that creates a cap and trade system for the state. They include protecting people from utility rate hikes as the state transitions away from coal-fired power and investing revenues to help rural and under-served communities make the shift to cleaner energy sources.

“It must both grow our economy and reduce pollution,” she said. “Specifically, the policy needs to ensure that as we reduce emissions, Oregon small businesses and manufacturers are not put at a competitive disadvantage in global markets.”

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed Dolores O'Riordan's death is not being treated as suspicious.

Dolores O'Riordan's death has sparked a surge in sales of her solo and Cranberries work with the band's latest album sales up by 913,350 per cent.

LONDON (AP) — Dolores O'Riordan, whose urgent, powerful voice helped make Irish rock band The Cranberries a global success in the 1990s, died suddenly on Monday at a London hotel. She was 46.

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Tuesday:

LONDON (AP) — Dolores O'Riordan, whose urgent, powerful voice helped make Irish rock band The Cranberries a global success in the 1990s, died suddenly on Monday at a London hotel. She was 46.

The Cranberries - Fergal Lawler, Noel and Mike Hogan - are "devastated" by the death of Dolores O'Riordan, who passed away on Monday (15.01.18) at the age of 46.

Diplo and James Corden have led tributes to Dolores O'Riordan, the frontwoman of The Cranberries, who tragically passed away in London on Monday (15.01.18) at the age of 46.

Dolores O'Riordan's death is being treated as "unexplained", a Met Police spokesperson has confirmed.

A publicist says Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer of Irish band The Cranberries, has died aged 46. Lindsey Holmes says O'Riordan has died suddenly in London, where she was recording. The Limerick band became international stars in the 1990s with hits…

KTVZ
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies at age 46
KTVZ
(CNN) - Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Irish band The Cranberries, died in London on Monday, according to a statement from her publicist. O'Riordan, who was 46, died "suddenly" according to the statement, but no details were given on the ...
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies suddenly aged 46BBC News

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KTVZ
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies at age 46
KTVZ
(CNN) - Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Irish band The Cranberries, died in London on Monday, according to a statement from her publicist. O'Riordan, who was 46, died "suddenly" according to the statement, but no details were given on the ...
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies suddenly aged 46BBC News

all 827 news articles »

The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan - famous for hits such as 'Linger', 'Zombie' and 'I Can't Be With You' - has died at the age of 46.

TheWrap
Dolores O'Riordan, Cranberries Singer, Dies at 46
TheWrap
Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer for Irish rock group The Cranberries, has died at age 46. A publicist for the singer said that she died suddenly on Monday. She had been recording in London. The cause of O'Riordan's death was not immediately available.
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan dies suddenly aged 46BBC News

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LONDON (AP) — Publicist: Singer Dolores O'Riordan of Irish band The Cranberries has died aged 46.

Salem, Ore. — There are speeches to prepare, scrapbooks to finish and current events to brush up on as five young women prepare for the 2018 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador contest later this month.

Hosted by the Oregon Dairy Women, the 59th annual coronation banquet will take place Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Salem Convention Center, according to a press release from the organization.

2017 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador, Kiara Single, will close her year representing the dairy industry and will crown her successor responsible for continuing the legacy of promotion of dairy products.

For the past year, these five representatives have represented their respective counties, promoting dairy products, educating the public about nutrition and enlightening their communities about life on a dairy farm at local schools, fairs and events.

The 2018 finalists include Stephanie Breazile of Linn and Benton Counties, Donata Doornenbal of Marion County, Rachel Jenck of Tillamook, Megan Sprute of Washington County and Jessica Monroe of Yamhill County.

The contestants will arrive in Salem on Friday morning for a full three days of speeches, interviews and prepared commercials promoting dairy products. The winner will be crowned at the conclusion of Saturday’s banquet.

Tickets to attend the event should be ordered prior to Jan. 22, from the Oregon Dairy Women by calling (503) 357-9152 or visiting oregondairywomen.com/events. No tickets will be sold at the door. Tickets are $50 per person and must be paid in advance.

Oregon Dairy Women is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization with the main objective of promoting the dairy industry.

Since 1959, the Oregon Dairy Women’s Dairy Princess Ambassador Program has served as the premier advocate for the Oregon Dairy Industry in collaboration with the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association and the Oregon Dairy Nutrition Council. The ODW award scholarships, and provides financial support to 4-H and FFA programs, Agriculture in the Classroom, Ag Fest, Summer Ag Institute, Adopt-a-Farmer and judging teams. For more information visit www.oregondairywomen.com.

VALE, Ore. — As wolves continue to disperse throughout the state law enforcement officials and ranchers are learning how to determine whether livestock was killed by wolves or another predator.

Todd Nash, a Wallowa County rancher who attended the meeting, said the instructors, Canadian conservation officers James Barber and Jesse Jones, talked about looking at the totality of information at hand when investigating livestock that appears to be killed by a predator.

During an investigation, the instructors noted the type and age of the livestock and whether the rancher had previous problems with any particular predator.

Then, Nash said, they moved on to obvious things such as ruling out bears in the winter and looking for tracks, bite marks and attack sites.

Various predators kill differently, the instructors said. When bears attack, they maul, using their paws, but not always their claws. He said bears get on the back of their prey and often attack the withers, the ridge between an animal’s shoulder blades.

Differentiating between coyotes and wolves is largely determined by the spacing of their teeth. Also, wolves are bigger and stronger and can take on larger prey. Both canine predators use their teeth, but coyotes are multiple biters, leaving more bite marks than wolves.

Cougars are more strategic and typically kill their prey by clamping down with one bite.

Oregon ranchers whose livestock and working dogs have been proven killed by a wolf can apply for compensation under a program administered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Jerome Rosa, the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association executive director, said his organization was a supporter of the training, which was sponsored by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office.

“With the Oregon wolf population increasing 30 percent per year and limited qualified personnel to confirm depredations, this program is another tool in the toolbox to manage escalating conflicts between predators, livestock and humans,” Rosa said.

Following a string of investigations into dead cattle presumed killed by wolves, Travis Johnson, Malheur County’s under sheriff, said there was an interest in getting additional training in necropsies.

“Part of the reason we want to bring this in is so we will all be better educated,” Johnson said.

The deputies have had a couple of classes, Johnson said, and have worked closely with Wallowa County Sheriff Steve Rogers and Chief Deputy Fred Steen, who are well familiar with investigating whether livestock was killed by wolves.

Wolf attacks on livestock started in 2009 when lambs and a calf were killed outside Baker City. Steen said shortly after wolves began killing cattle in Wallowa County in the spring of 2010 he attended training in Enterprise led by Rick Williams, a USDA Wildlife Services agent from Idaho, and a workshop hosted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in La Grande.

But the bulk of his expertise in animal necropsies, he said, was in the field investigating dead livestock with Marlyn Riggs, who was Wallowa County’s Wildlife Services field agent until 2014.

Steen said he attended the workshop in Malheur County “to see how these Canadian conservation officers work through their process.”

Like the Wallowa County sheriff’s office, Johnson said when his deputies investigate a potential wolf-kill they treat the area like a crime scene and contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. A veterinarian who is on Malheur County’s wolf compensation committee has assisted with necropsies and trained the deputies.

An investigation of an animal presumed killed by a predator attempts to determine if the animal was killed or if it died of other causes and was eaten by wolves afterward.

“We want to try and be able to differentiate between different kills,” Johnson said. “With each predator the kill characteristics are different. All are very distinct and some distinctions are very nuanced.”

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has hosted a few workshops with Wildlife Services, Roblyn Brown, Oregon’s wolf coordinator, said.

“These one-day trainings have focused on non-lethal and lethal measures that can be taken when wolves are in an area, what to do if you believe a wolf or other predator has attacked livestock, signs of wolf and other predator attacks and our evidence-based investigation process and current information about wolves in Oregon,” Brown said.

Brown said working with ranchers in the field has been useful.

“We have found the actual investigation is a good time to work with producers to learn about investigating different predator attack signatures,” Brown said.

The recent killings of three calves by wolves in Jackson County, Ore., probably by members of the Rogue Pack, hit close to home for Mark Coats, who advocates a predator awareness program he believes can reduce such incidents by wolves, coyotes and other carnivores.

Coats, who has cattle operations in Siskiyou County in far Northern California and Klamath and Jackson counties in Oregon, said the attacks happened on a neighbor’s land.

“My cows turned out fine,” he said. “I’m confident in my cows’ ability to stand off predators,” explaining he routinely takes steps to retrain his herds.

Coats doesn’t necessarily like it, but he accepts the fact that wolves have become a fixture in Oregon and parts of Northern California.

“The wolf is a carnivore. Killing is what he does. By the laws of the ESA we can’t do a lot,” said Coats, referring to protections to wolves mandated under the federal Endangered Species Act. “We need to learn how to stay in business in his presence.”

Over the past six years Coats has been studying and implementing new ways of preventing cattle deaths by predators, including wolves, coyotes and mountain lions. He has been working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on creating a predator awareness program he believes can successfully reduce or eliminate predation deaths.

“What they need is the individualized chase,” where a wolf or wolves isolate a cow or calf from the herd, then chase, immobilize and eat the animal, which is often still alive. “We’re trying to interrupt that. That is the key.”

The key, he believes, is training cattle to gather in herds when threatened by wolves or other potential killers.

Coats began researching wolf and cattle behavior six years ago when OR-7, then a lone male gray wolf that for several years was electronically tracked after it left the Imnaha Pack in northeast Oregon in 2007, passed through his lands near the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge along the Oregon-California state line. During his wanderings in Southern Oregon and Northern California, OR-7 eventually found a breeding female. The pack has grown and includes OR-7’s grandchildren.

“My phone was ringing off the hook because I was the cattlemen’s president,” remembers Coats, who served as the Siskiyou County Cattlemen’s Association president for three years, of what spurred his interest. “I started doing a lot of research on what cattlemen can do.”

What cattlemen and others can do is limited. Wolves east of Highway 395, which slices through Washington, Oregon and California, are not protected by the ESA but wolves west of the highway are protected, which restricts ways cattle ranchers and others can deal with potential depredation threats. Coats said various studies, including research done in Yellowstone National Park, show threats can be reduced or eliminated if cattle are taught to group together and not to flee or run.

“The fear of the wolf is still there. There are no sound practices to defer him,” Coats said of concerns by livestock owners who are legally prevented from killing wolves. “We cannot manage them with any effective measure.”

Instead of hunting or trapping wolves, he believes the predator awareness program is a viable alternative. “When wolves confront livestock, they (livestock) get fearful for their lives. Once they reach the group, the pressure is relieved. A defensive standing posture will defer wolves. What we’re encouraging is a defensive posture of moving to the herd.”

He said studies indicate wolves do not attack groups of livestock, choosing instead to chase individual animals. According to Coats, previous studies showed that wolves will leave if livestock remain still and in groups. While he is focused on cattle, he said the group-and-stand theory applies to other livestock. “We always saw losses to coyotes, but since we’ve worked with this program we haven’t had any losses to mammals.”

“Training can last several months or, if done intensely, seven to 10 days,” he said. “And it continually needs to be tuned up. The cow must understand it is its decision to return to the herd. ... A key is training them to stand and not run or flee.”

Studies indicate cattle can check attacks by gathering in groups as few as three, although he prefers groups of 10 to 12. In more open areas, such as the Wood River Valley south of Crater Lake National Park, he promotes having groups of 40 or 50.

He hopes to make his findings more available through a series of workshops.

“We’re encouraging something that’s been un-encouraged for years,” Coats said of training cattle to respond to threats by forming groups. “Keep it tight, keep them in a herd, in a defensive posture. They’re in that group for a reason.”

Online

For detailed information on Mark Coats predator awareness program, including videos on how to train cattle, visit his website at www.rancherpredatorawareness.com.