In 1884, a citrus farmer financed the construction of the Rock Dam, transforming a marshy California valley surrounded by forest into Big Bear Lake and forever changing the mountain area about 100 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.
The original dam was replaced with a bigger one in 1912, and more development moved into Big Bear Valley: highways, ski lifts, a shopping district known as the village, hotels and thousands of homes.
Today, some form of development rings nearly the entire circumference of the human-made lake. Some areas are more sparsely built-out than others, but for the most part, the lake is surrounded by second homes, vacation rentals and less common but desperately needed housing for the full-time residents who make up the mountain’s workforce.
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One rare exception is an approximately 63-acre chunk of land just east of the tiny unincorporated community of Fawnskin, along the lake’s less-developed north shore. The property, which includes a stretch of lakeshore and backs up to San Bernardino National Forest, has remained undeveloped even as homes dot the landscape to the east and west. That’s not for a lack of trying: Developers first considered lakefront homes on the property in 1982, but various proposals have spent decades mired in public opposition, environmental reviews and lawsuits.
Millions of viewers around the world have been captivated by livestreams of Jackie and Shadow’s nest near Big Bear Lake, managed by Friends of Big Bear Valley.
Millions of viewers around the world have been captivated by livestreams of Jackie and Shadow’s nest near Big Bear Lake, managed by Friends of Big Bear Valley.Friends of Big Bear Valley
Now, two local environmental groups (and millions of their worldwide supporters) are racing to purchase the property and end development discussions once and for all. Last fall, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved plans for 50 homes and a marina on the site, despite concerns from opponents that the project could disrupt the habitat of internet-famous bald eagles Jackie and Shadow.
Instead of starting the development process, though, owner RCK Properties entered into a limited purchase agreement with the nonprofit San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust that will allow the land trust to purchase and permanently conserve the contested property — that is, if the group can come up with $10 million by July 31.
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The land trust and Friends of Big Bear Valley, another local nonprofit that operates popular livestreams of Jackie and Shadow and was formed back in 2001 over concerns about a previous iteration of the development, have spent the past few months in heavy fundraising mode, trying to grab every possible dollar to save the purchase agreement.
Jackie and Shadow perch on their nest overlooking Big Bear Lake. The pair are the only full-time bald eagle residents in the area and have raised multiple chicks.
Jackie and Shadow perch on their nest overlooking Big Bear Lake. The pair are the only full-time bald eagle residents in the area and have raised multiple chicks.Friends of Big Bear Valley
As of July 17, with the month more than half over, the fundraiser stood at $4.5 million raised, less than half of the $10 million goal.
A plan for eagle protection
The north shore of Big Bear Lake, where RCK Properties’ Moon Camp project is planned, is mostly a stark contrast to the south side of the lake. Fawnskin is home to a few hundred residents and a small market, while the north side of the lake overall offers a campground, an RV resort and a solar observatory. The south side of the lake, meanwhile, is where most visitors spend their time at restaurants, bars, hotels and ski resorts.
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That’s why advocates say it’s no surprise that Jackie and Shadow, the only two year-round bald eagles in the area, made their nest on the lake’s north shore. Over the past several years, the two birds have become famous worldwide as millions of people tune in to 24/7 livestreams operated by Friends of Big Bear Valley. Online viewers watch as Jackie and Shadow grapple with losing chicks to freezing temperatures, carry fresh fish back to the nest for their fledglings and ultimately watch their offspring take flight.
A view of the shoreline in the Moon Camp area, where developers have proposed building homes since the 1980s. The property is considered one of the last stretches of undeveloped shoreline on the lake.
A view of the shoreline in the Moon Camp area, where developers have proposed building homes since the 1980s. The property is considered one of the last stretches of undeveloped shoreline on the lake.San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust
Last summer, the pair had three chicks (named Misty, Sunny and Gizmo). Misty died during a snowstorm, but Sunny and Gizmo ultimately took flight and left the nest this June, when they were around 3 months old. This summer, the eagles are again raising two chicks, named Luna and Sandy (after Sandy Steers, the former executive director of Friends of Big Bear Valley who died in February).
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More than 2 million people follow the eagles through the nonprofit’s social channels, which are known for their long captions with updates on what’s happening with the eagle parents and their eaglets.
That’s how Jenny Voisard, the Oregon-based media manager for Friends of Big Bear Valley, first got involved with the nonprofit. “I found [Jackie and Shadow] in a time of my life when I needed them; I needed to heal from things, and I loved watching,” said Voisard, who started out answering viewer questions on Facebook in 2022 and now manages the group’s media and the current fundraiser.
Voisard says the proposed housing development is less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow’s nest and covers an undeveloped piece of shoreline they frequently visit for hunting and foraging. When an adjacent bay freezes over, the contested property is the closest shoreline to the nest, according to Voisard.
“It’s the last undeveloped shoreline on the lake. … [Big Bear Lake] is very developed, and houses are mostly all the way around. There’s not too much that’s just for wildlife,” Voisard said.
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Developers have proposed building homes in the Moon Camp area, an undeveloped property on Big Bear Lake’s north shore, since the 1980s.
Developers have proposed building homes in the Moon Camp area, an undeveloped property on Big Bear Lake’s north shore, since the 1980s.San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust
Jackie and Shadow use the area’s towering pines as “perch trees,” Voisard said. “It’s how they conserve energy. It’s how they hunt and fish, and they perch on certain trees for certain reasons in certain areas, in certain angles, certain times of the day. So it’s not random, and it’s a prime perching and foraging area for them to get fish and waterfowl and other things that they need.”
Advocates also say the mere proximity of the development could disturb the eagles due to construction noise, increased human activity and more boats on the nearby waters.
Surveying the land
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, which governs land-use decisions in unincorporated parts of the county, first approved the current iteration of RCK’s proposal back in July 2020. Environmental groups (including Friends of Big Bear Valley) sued, and in January 2022, a court ruling agreed with them that the environmental impact report for the project was partially deficient.
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A map shows the proposed project site for the Moon Camp development, which would add 50 homes to the quieter north shore area of Big Bear Lake.
A map shows the proposed project site for the Moon Camp development, which would add 50 homes to the quieter north shore area of Big Bear Lake.Image via San Bernadino County
The project was revised and brought back to the board in January 2025, when the board approved the plans once again. But the county later found a “defect” in how it provided notice to nearby residents about the project, so the same project was brought to the board for a new approval last September.
At the September meeting, several Big Bear residents took the stand to oppose the project, including Steers, the former director of Friends of Big Bear Valley, who died a few months later.
“I urge you to, for once, support the environment that actually brings the tourists and funds both Big Bear Valley and county of San Bernardino. I ask you to pay attention to the wildlife species and environment that really count. Please vote ‘no’ on this project,” said Steers, wearing a purple shirt that said “The Family Tree 2025,” with a photo of Jackie, Shadow and their offspring.
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Jackie and Shadow’s nest is about a mile from a long-proposed housing development that would occupy one of the last stretches of undeveloped shoreline on the lake.
Jackie and Shadow’s nest is about a mile from a long-proposed housing development that would occupy one of the last stretches of undeveloped shoreline on the lake.Friends of Big Bear Valley
“I grew up going to the forest up the mountain to get away from what’s down here. And if that forest disappears, if the trees, the animals, if — that’s what we go up there for, and I’d like to know exactly what’s going to happen with all of that,” said Kimberly Bigham Derry, another project opponent at that meeting.
After hearing public comments, the five-member Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reapprove the project, with no questions or comments from board members. “I know that we’ve been over this project many times with this board,” said Supervisor and board Chairman Dawn Rowe, whose district includes the Big Bear area.
The scale of the Moon Camp development has been repeatedly whittled down over the years, from 110 residential lots in 1982 to 92 lots in 2001 to just 50 lots planned today. RCK Properties has also set aside certain lots as permanent open space under conservation easements, including areas with bald eagle perch trees. The proposed project would designate 9.2 acres for habitat and open space, along with “the perpetual protection and maintenance” of designated habitat areas, and “does not include any residential development along the lakeshore,” according to environmental review documents.
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Developers have proposed building homes in the Moon Camp area, an undeveloped property on Big Bear Lake’s north shore, since the 1980s.
Developers have proposed building homes in the Moon Camp area, an undeveloped property on Big Bear Lake’s north shore, since the 1980s.San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust
In the 2020 lawsuit, the court “determined that the impacts on Bald Eagle were adequately analyzed” in the earlier environmental impact report, so the issues with that report were related to other issues, according to the new environmental report produced in June 2024.
The project also tracks with the underlying land-use and general plan designations for the property, according to the environmental report, and has a lower density than other residential areas nearby.
“In this case, the County has, in its discretion as the Lead Agency over its Countywide Plan, interpreted that the proposed Project has been designed to be compatible with the natural environment through establishment of Conservation Easements, retainment of many bald eagle perch trees, no development along the Big Bear Lake shoreline, and compliance with the (very low density residential) land use designation,” states the report.
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Steve Foulkes, vice president of RCK Properties, wrote in an email to SFGATE that the company has no comment on the project other than to confirm the purchase agreement with the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust.
A view from the popular livestream of famous bald eagles Jackie and Shadow’s nest, managed by Friends of Big Bear Valley.
A view from the popular livestream of famous bald eagles Jackie and Shadow’s nest, managed by Friends of Big Bear Valley.Friends of Big Bear Valley
The county’s Land Use Services Department, meanwhile, “does not have a position on the effort to purchase or conserve the property,” according to Amelia Maldonado, a spokesperson for the department.
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While the environmental groups are still less than halfway toward their $10 million goal, “failure is not an option,” Voisard said. If they don’t raise the full amount to purchase the site outright, she said, they’ll use financing; it’ll just be a more difficult process. The groups have surpassed a $3 million fundraising threshold that was needed to qualify for a financing option.
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“In Big Bear, there are hundreds of homes that are worth a million dollars or more that are already listed for sale on the market,” Voisard said. “There is no real need for million-dollar mansions on that tiny little spot.”
July 20, 2026
Photo of Erin Rode
Contributing LA Outdoors Editor
Erin Rode is SFGATE’s Contributing Los Angeles Outdoors Editor. Erin grew up in Los Angeles County and has hiked area trails for over a decade. She previously covered the environment for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs.