Environmental groups launch $10M fundraiser to buy land near Big Bear’s famous bald eagle nest

Environmental organizations are launching a fundraiser to buy land in Big Bear Valley to prevent construction of a planned housing project some say would harm rare plants and wildlife in the area.

Friends of Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust are trying to raise $10 million by the end of July to purchase more than 62 acres of land pegged for Moon Camp. The project would include 50 lots for custom homes and a marina with 55 boat slips.

Instead, the organizations want the land to be placed under a permanent conservatorship. Officials say “Save Moon Camp” is the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Sandy Steers, the nonprofit’s late executive director, said last fall that Moon Camp would have a “severe detrimental impact” on the community’s plant life and wildlife, including bald eagles and San Bernardino flying squirrels.

Steers died last week, and Friends of Big Bear Valley said the fundraiser is now in her honor.

San Bernardino County officials voted to move forward with Moon Camp last fall, despite some community concerns about the project’s environmental impacts on the area.

That includes the famous bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, who nest less than a mile away. The Moon Camp site can be seen from the eagles’ nest camera on a popular YouTube livestream, which is run by Friends of Big Bear Valley and followed by thousands of fans.

According to the nonprofit, the project would affect the bald eagles’ ability to raise chicks, and there is a “real possibility” Jackie and Shadow would leave the area altogether.

Jenny Voisard, the organization’s media manager, told LAist it’s a “moon shot to buy Moon Camp,” but it’s the most important thing the group's members and supporters could do for Big Bear Valley.

“And we're doing it for Jackie and Shadow,” she said, “because it will absolutely disrupt and devastate that area.”

The proposed project site can be seen from the nest livestream.

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The big picture

Friends of Big Bear Valley said Steers helped negotiate a signed agreement to buy Moon Camp from the property developer, RCK Properties Inc., with the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust. Friends of Big Bear Valley said negotiating the deal was the "most important priority Steers had."

RCK Properties didn’t immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

If the groups raise $10 million by July 31, the acres will be placed under a permanent conservatorship.

The eventual goal is to have the land be protected under the U.S. Forest Service. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust has helped purchase hundreds of acres that were later added to the San Bernardino National Forest, according to the organization.

“We need everyone to be Jackie and Shadow's hero,” Voisard said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Donations should be made directly to SaveMoonCamp.org. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust kicked off the fundraiser with a $50,000 gift, Voisard added.

Voisard said donations of all sizes are welcome. Large gifts can expect special recognition from Friends of Big Bear Valley, she added.

Friends of Big Bear Valley is managing the fundraiser, and if it raises enough, the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust would purchase the land for preservation.

Friends of Big Bear Valley will not receive any money in the effort, Voisard said.

The backstory

Moon Camp’s design in the unincorporated community of Fawnskin was first drafted decades ago, but the project has faced harsh criticism and legal challenges from Friends of Big Bear Valley and other environmental organizations.

Steers has argued Moon Camp would have a “severe detrimental impact” on the community’s plant life and wildlife. The project site is a foraging habitat for Big Bear’s famous feathered couple, their chicks and other bald eagles in the area, she said previously.

“ We're not trying to stop development or anything like that — we're trying to protect habitats,” Steers told LAist last September. “ We want this valley and the environment to maintain its integrity.”

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the Moon Camp project in July 2020, according to a staff report, but it was challenged in court a month later.

The board voted unanimously again last September to approve parts of the project, with updates meant to address habitat and wildlife issues, according to the staff report.

Steers said before the board’s vote last fall that the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust being able to purchase the land “would be ideal”

“Then the developer gets their money, and nothing has to be destroyed, and the land can be protected,” she said last September.

Sandy Steers, the late executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, spoke against the Moon Camp project during the the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting in September 2025.

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