It was looking like the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust, a nonprofit conservancy dedicated to permanently protecting forest land in the San Bernardino National Forest, would not reach its goal of raising enough money to buy land along the north shore of Big Bear Lake in Fawnskin to prevent a home development project known as Moon Camp. Then stepped in a tech billionaire.

The conservancy group and property owners, RCK Properties from Chicago, had agreed on a $10 million deal for the land purchase. The proposed development of 50 homes is roughly a mile from the nesting site of Big Bear’s beloved bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow. These eagles are featured on a 24/7 livestream camera maintained by the nonprofit organization Friends of Big Bear Valley. SBMLT launched fundraising efforts Feb. 19. Both parties agreed to a July 31 deadline.

As of Thursday, July 23, the conservancy had raised almost half of the necessary funds – $4.9 million.

With the days closing in, the chances of reaching the agreed amount seemed like a long shot.

Then it wasn’t.

Friday morning, July 24, seven days before the agreement deadline, a $5.5 million windfall donation was announced, securing funding to avert the home development, according to a Friends of Big Bear Valley press release.

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A sign designates the area closed for two nesting bald eagles at Big Bear Lake on March 10, 2026. The proposed Moon Camp housing and boating development is a short distance away in Fawnskin, CA. The forest land will now be under the care of the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust, a nonprofit conservancy, after it raised over $10 million to buy the land from the developer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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The benefactors?

Greg Brockman, co-founder and president of San Francisco-based artificial intelligence giant OpenAI and his wife, Anna.

“Greg and I are grateful to all those who championed saving the home of these majestic eagles, Jackie and Shadow. Like many people around the world, we love watching them be amazing partners to one another and raise their young. They inspire perseverance and a sense of connectedness to something greater, to nature,” Anna was quoted as saying in the news release.

Jenny Voisard, media manager with Friends of Big Bear Valley, said by phone Friday morning that the group had been in conversation with the Brockmans for about a month.

“When they committed to doing this, we were just so ecstatic and so excited. My team didn’t even know. We were sworn to secrecy to keep this confidential while we figured everything out and got everything sort of done and prepared,” Voisard said.

Voisard said she’s happy to give the community some “good news,” with the backdrop of the famous livestream bald eagle duo, Jackie and Shadow, separated now for days.

Over the weekend, Jackie was found grounded for hours after being seen in an altercation with two younger eagles. The mama bird is  being treated at Ojai Raptor Center, a rescue and rehabilitation center in Ojai, a community in Ventura County.

The latest update from Ojai on Thursday, July 23, was that Jackie successfully underwent a life-saving transfusion thanks to another bald eagle from California Living Museum in Bakersfield.

Jackie isn’t out of the woods just yet. Ojai’s medical team says her condition remains “critical” and remains anemic.

“This week has been so rough,” Voisard said. “I’m so grateful to Anna. She loves Jackie and Shadow. She’s a big fan, and she’s inspired by the community giving. And she wanted to help,” she added.

With the funds now secured, the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust will close on escrow by July 31. If all goes smoothly, starting Aug. 1, the land will belong to and be cared for by SBMT in perpetuity.

Leftover donated funds will go towards paying property tax, legal fees, closing costs and helping maintain the land, Voisard said.

Voisard is filled with an array of emotions. She brings up the passing of former FBBV Executive Director Sandy Steers, who died in February. Steers had been instrumental in arranging the land purchase agreement with RCK Properties, said Peter Jorris, executive director of the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust, back in March.

Steers did not live to see her goal fully realized. Jackie’s medical condition didn’t help either.

“I’m relieved to let everybody know that we did it,” Voisard said. “I feel like this is what Sandy wanted, and that makes me happy.” she said.

The final piece of this puzzle is Jackie, Voisard said.

“Jackie, I have your Moon Camp ready,” she said.

As for OpenAI, it has made headlines this year over assorted legal actions and situations including:

  • A federal court in May dismissed claims filed against OpenAI and its top executives by Elon Musk, who accused them of betraying a shared vision for it to remain a nonprofit dedicated to guiding artificial intelligence’s development for the good of humanity.
  • Earlier this month, The Orange County Register, New York Daily News, The New York Times and other media outlets filed court papers seeking “serious sanctions” against OpenAI, saying the company destroyed evidence and intentionally hid its ability to locate allegedly stolen news stories in training data and responses to ChatGPT users. The motion was filed in Manhattan Federal Court as part of an ongoing copyright infringement suit. The Sun in San Bernardino, the Register, and other papers in the Southern California News Group are part of MediaNews Group. The New York Daily News is part of an affiliated company, Tribune Publishing.
  • This week, OpenAI said it was investigating the “unprecedented cyber incident” that led its artificial intelligence systems to break out of a testing environment and hack into another AI company.