Falconry initiated lifestyle change away from the streets

May 11--Rodney Stotts says he remembers sitting in silence in a parked car with a gun on his lap at age 17, waiting for his latest drug dealing transaction on another pitch-black night in Washington, D.C.'sValley Green Community housing projects.

His days spent dealing cocaine, marijuana, prescription medications and guns reached a breaking point in his early 30s, he said, when he realized he was "waiting to die" with that lifestyle and, instead, chose to keep living.

Now a licensed falconer and raptor specialist, the 46-year-old environmental enthusiast said he's found an even better "high," leading adults and youth through mentorship programs and community projects with Rodney's Raptors, while mastering the art of falconry.

The Washington, D.C., native dove into raptor education in the early-2000s, beginning with the Earth Conservation Corps nonprofit organization to teach youth about raptors, such as eagles, hawks, owls, osprey and falcons.

Stotts served as the raptor program coordinator in partnership with nonprofit organization Wings Over America, which establishes relationships between adjudicated youth and injured birds of prey for a wholesome rehabilitation process; however, the learning program was only offered to young individuals who had been arrested.

"If a young person, who has never been arrested, wanted to do something, how do you tell them you can't help them until they get arrested?" Stotts said. "If I stop the bird from getting hit by a car, I don't have to heal that bird up or worry about it getting killed. It's like jail. If you stop the arrest from happening, there is no recidivism rate."

During his educational programs, Stotts handled raptors in rehabilitation that could not be released to hunt. In 2009, Stotts said he pursed falconry to learn how to further heal, train and set free birds of prey.

To bring programs to all people in the community, Stotts said he started his own business, Rodney's Raptors, and visited hospitals, jails, elderly homes, schools and recreation centers to teach people about raptors and the importance of a healthy environment.

Stotts is currently a licensed general falconer, which limits the number of raptors he can have at one time. The Maryland Falconry Permit and Licenses process requires master falconer applicants to have two years experience as a sponsor's apprentice and five years experience as a general falconer. Approaching the end of his sixth year, Stotts said he will apply for a master falconer's license in June 2018, allowing him to possess, fly and hunt with raptors and birds of prey.

At the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Boyds, founder and licensed rehabilitator Suzanne Shoemaker said she served as Stotts' sponsor around 2011 during their work together at Wings Over America. Shoemaker started her own nonprofit center in 2002, working to get injured birds back into their natural habitats.

When asked why she chose to sponsor Stotts, Shoemaker said she was intrigued by his knowledge of all the raptors he handled and his mission to help troubled youth.

"He was dedicated to what he wanted to do," she said. "He knows better than anybody what is needed for youth because he was there at one time. I wanted him to be able to go forward. I trust that he's taking it in a direction that is good for the youth, helping them stay out of prison."

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