“Rodney’s Raptors” with Master Falconer Rodney Stotts

Rodney Stotts is a Master Falconer from Southeast Washington DC. He is a mentor and youth community leader. Mr. Stotts creates transformative opportunities that connect youth to the environment and to the community.

Realizing his lifestyle was not safe or sustainable, Stotts was drawn to falconry and river conservation as an alternative to jail, or perhaps more likely, death. “I found that my love for the environment and raptors was greater than the love for drug dealing,” Stotts explained.

According to Stotts, falconry is important in two ways: it saves the lives of raptors and helps to keep the population healthy; and, falconry crosses all color, socioeconomic and ethnic barriers. Through his work, he makes the powerful connection between endangered species of all kinds that include the Bald Eagle in DC to local youth who must navigate survival in a stressed community.

Says Rodney, “Falconry can help build character, compassion and caring. Its importance is immeasurable. It changes lives.” Rodney’s Raptors supports a variety of independent and community projects in the DC-MD-VA area and beyond. For more information visit: https://rodneysraptors.webs.com.

For more information, please contact Mark Madison (304-876-7276) at mark_madison@fws.gov.