Attendees included sheriffs and chiefs of police from across the country, including representatives from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Sheriffs’ Association, National Native American Law Enforcement Association, Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council, and Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council.

“Engaging local communities is critical to our nation’s effort to counter violent extremism and violent crime, and this meeting brings together many of our partners,” said Secretary Napolitano. “The Department of Homeland Security will continue to collaborate with our state and local law enforcement partners and engage the public in our efforts to combat violent extremism, while protecting civil rights and civil liberties.”

During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano underscored DHS’ efforts to support local communities by enhancing existing partnerships to focus on information-driven community-based solutions, building government and law enforcement expertise, supporting community oriented policing practices and expanding grant prioritization to counter violent extremism and violent crime regardless of ideology.

In addition, DHS is continuing to implement recommendations from the DHS Homeland Security Advisory Council Countering Violent Extremism Working Group, such as developing a curriculum for state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement focused on a community-oriented policing approach to countering violent extremism and violent crime.

DHS’ Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties also works to educate communities and state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement on cultural awareness across the nation.

Secretary Napolitano also reiterated President Obama’s call for Congress to take action to prevent layoffs of law enforcement and first responders, and keep our communities safe by passing legislation such as the American Jobs Act.

The legislation would provide $5 billion in assistance to states and local communities to create or save thousands of law enforcement and first responder jobs across the country.

Over the past year, DHS has worked with the Department of Justice on the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) – an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and ensure the sharing of those reports with the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces for further investigation.

DHS has also collaborated with federal, state, local and private sector partners, and the general public, to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign. Originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority and now licensed to DHS for a nationwide campaign, the “If You See Something, Say Something™” campaign is a simple and effective program to engage the public to identify and report indicators of terrorism, crime and other threats to the proper transportation and law enforcement authorities.

DHS will continue to expand the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign nationally to ensure America’s businesses, communities, and citizens remain vigilant and play an active role in keeping the country safe.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov/cve.

Just make a voluntary contribution on line 403 and/or line 410 of your state income tax return (Form 540).

By contributing any amount over one dollar you can support the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Fund and/or the California Sea Otter Fund.

What you donate this year is tax deductible on next year’s return. Californians can receive state income tax credit from the Franchise Tax Board for helping wildlife.

“The voluntary donations made by Californians at tax time are incredibly important in our efforts to save threatened and endangered species,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “These funds have provided critical support for many state-listed species such as the Bakersfield cactus, Owens pupfish, San Francisco garter snake, California tiger salamander, marbled murrelet, Mohave ground squirrel and many more. These donations will help ensure that California’s extraordinary biodiversity is maintained for future generations.”

There are 387 listed plant and animal species, from little “bugs” that most of us have never heard of, to the iconic California sea otter. Hundreds more are at risk.

Money raised through the tax check-off program helps pay for essential DFG research and recovery efforts. Such work allowed the California brown pelican and American peregrine falcon to be delisted in 2009.

California is one of 41 states that allow taxpayers to make a voluntary, tax-deductible contribution to one or more worthwhile causes on their state returns.

Since 1983, the tax check-off fund for Rare and Endangered Species has raised more than $18 million and supported numerous projects, including the establishment of a controlled breeding program for endangered riparian brush rabbits using a newly discovered population of wild rabbits. This collaborative effort has resulted in a significant expansion of riparian brush rabbit populations on public lands.

The critical support of California taxpayers has enabled wildlife biologists to achieve important recovery milestones to conserve our vulnerable species.

More information on the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation tax check-off program is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/taxcheck.

A second tax check-off fund was created specifically to facilitate recovery of the California sea otter, which is listed as a State Fully Protected Species and a Threatened Species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Based on the most recently completed survey, there are fewer than 2,800 sea otters remaining in California. This small population is extremely vulnerable to oil spills, environmental pollution, predation by white sharks and other threats.

Many sea otter deaths have been linked to pollution flowing from land to the sea, including fecal parasites, bacterial toxins and chemicals that have been linked to coastal land use.

According to DFG Wildlife Veterinarian and lead sea otter researcher Melissa Miller, the California Sea Otter Fund provides crucial funding to help scientists better understand and trace causes of sea otter mortality, identify factors limiting population growth and work collaboratively with stakeholders to prevent pollution of California's nearshore marine ecosystem.

This fund is made possible entirely through voluntary contributions by citizens of the state of California.

The California Sea Otter Fund has become especially vital during the current economic downturn, because other sources of support for sea otter conservation and research have decreased or are no longer available. There are no other dedicated state funding sources available to continue this important work.

You can support this research by making a contribution on line 410 of your state tax form 540, the California Sea Otter Fund. DFG works with Defenders of Wildlife to help promote the Sea Otter Fund. An excellent video about the sea otters’ current plight is on their Web site, www.defenders.org (keywords “tax check-off”).

The clinic will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Redbud Park, 14655 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.

Teenagers will learn car control from behind the wheel of their own car.

The tuition is $99 per student. Scholarships are available.

The National Auto Sport Association, California Highway Patrol Clear Lake Area office and the Clearlake Youth Center are partnering to host the event.

Registration and details are available at www.nasaCarControl.org.

For more information call driving instructor Eric Wheaton, 707-279-4840, or CHP Officer Kory Reynolds, 707-279-0103.

The group will meet from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Lucerne, 3863 Country Club Lane, across from the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center.

Social worker Jenny Johnson facilitates the group.

The support group is sponsored by Redwood Caregiver Resource Center, 800-834-1636, and the Social Day Programs in Lake County.

Respite is provided by the centers at no charge.

For more information call Jenny Johnson at 707-350-3030 or Caroline Denny at 707-263-9481.

A Western Bluebird parent feeds its young at a nest box at the Lake County Land Trust's Rodman Preserve. Photo by Brad Barnwell.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The upcoming meeting for the Redbud Audubon Society, to be held at the Lower Lake School House Museum on Jan. 19, starting at 7 p.m. will focus on creating Bluebird habitat.

Speaker Georgette Howington of the California Bluebird Recovery Program (CBRP) will give a PowerPoint presentation about these cavity nesting birds and how to monitor nest boxes. She will give a brief history of the program, which was originally started in 1976.

Howington will talk about why the program is such a successful conservation effort, and how monitoring next boxes can be a wonderful, satisfying and relaxing hobby.

She has been a nest box monitor for the California Bluebird Recovery Program for 10 years and is the Contra Costa/Alameda County coordinator.

Lake County has a bluebird trail program that was started over 15 years ago by Jeannette Knight of Redbud Audubon who not only constructs bluebird boxes but has installed them at both Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and the Rodman Preserve, owned and operated by the Lake County Land Trust.

Anyone can have a “bluebird trail,” on their property, but it is important to install the boxes properly with predator protection a top priority and to clean the boxes on a regular basis. Monitoring of the boxes and reporting the information to the CPRB takes this effort one step farther.

CRPB encourages nestbox construction, creation of bluebird trails and annual monitoring of bluebird nesting outcomes.

By 2010 CBRP had created 265 bluebird trails across California and had 174 trail monitors. A total of 20 County Coordinators manage the program on a local level.

The public is cordially invited to this free program. The Redbud Audubon Society has started to vary its meeting locations to both north and south county locations.

From January through April the meetings will be held at the Lower Lake Historical School House Museum on the east end of the town of Lower Lake.

For more information about the Redbud Audubon Society, go to www.redbudaudubon.org.