If you have ever been in the Agoura High School Library you might have seen that there is a TV above the librarian’s desk. You also might have also seen on that TV footage from a live stream camera showing a Bald Eagle’s nest. This nest sits miles up in a big pine tree overlooking the beautiful valley of Fawnskin in Big Bear, California. Fawnskin is a peaceful, small community with a permanent population of about 380 people. Fawnskin has been most notable in the past for its role as a filming location for a few movies, but most recently it has been gaining national attention around the family eagles who live there. Jackie and Shadow, the mother and father of this eagle family, have been living together in Fawnskin since 2018 and have been together for almost eight years. They have had an epic love story so far, even involving a love triangle. They have battled together through snow storms, nest intruders, and even the loss of some of their eggs and eaglets. However, more recently they have had to face a much more frightening prospect. A plan to develop their home and foraging grounds into a luxury housing development. This development will drive Jackie and Shadow from their nesting area and prevent any more eaglets joining their family. Yet, hope is not lost and little do Jackie and Shadow know, that they have many friends on the ground who are trying to help.
In 2001, a group of developers in Big Bear introduced their plans to build Moon Camp, a luxury development project in Fawnskin, California without ever conducting any environmental analysis on the area. This project would not only contribute to deforestation but it would also endanger the Ash-grey Indian Paintbrush, the San Bernardino flying squirrels, and, arguably most importantly to this story, the project would destroy a Bald Eagle foraging ground making it almost impossible to raise chicks. The project would include a fifty lot sub division and a huge marina. The whole thing would be built less than a mile away from Jackie and Shadow’s nest. Concerns over the project lead to the forming of Friends of Big Bear Valley, who in 2020, along with Center for Biological Diversity and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, filed a lawsuit under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) against the development project. In 2022, FOBBV won the case; however, the developers had made changes to the project proposal including more environment analysis and resubmitted the case starting the whole process over again. In 2025, despite over five thousand emails and a public hearing opposing the project, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors gave the developers the go ahead. So FOBBV filed another lawsuit.
After months of negotiation, an agreement was reached. $10,000,000 must be raised and the land will be protected. If this money is raised, the land will be purchased and eventually added to the United States Forest Service. However, the money must be raised by July 31, 2026. This is only about a couple months away, and currently only 22% of the ultimate goal has been reached. If the remaining money is not raised in the upcoming months, Moon Camp will go forward with their development plans, and this critical area for wildlife will be demolished, leaving Jackie and Shadow without a home.
But don’t worry yet, there is still time to help! You can donate directly to Jackie and Shadow at savemooncamp.org or you can share their story by telling others or sharing it on your social media. Sharing their story is critical to raise awareness about this urgent issue, and consequentially, raising awareness can encourage others to donate. Even a small donation can be one step closer to saving this critical habitat. This habitat is not the only habitat threatened. Around the world millions of acres of forest are threatened by development, and with every acre lost millions of living creatures lose their homes. Without their homes, these animals have no way to survive. We must band together to stop this senseless murder of wildlife; saving Jackie and Shadow’s home is a good first step to protect the natural world. Go to savemooncamp.org and share this story and donate today!
