Wildlife activist Sandy Steers, who spearheaded the eagle nest cam, died on Wednesday night, according to the Friends of Big Bear Valley.

“It is with heavy hearts and great sadness to let our Friends of Big Bear Valley eagle family know that Sandy Steers passed away,” the nonprofit organization wrote in an Instagram post.   

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Sandy Steers has been the executive director of the Friends of Big Bear Valley for more than 20 years.

Friends of Big Bear Valley

Steers served as the longtime executive director of the Friends of Big Bear Valley, overseeing the nonprofit’s mission of environmental advocacy through educational programs. 

A biologist by trade, Steers once owned a tech company and retired to the San Bernardino County mountains, where she began birdwatching. She said it was someone with the U.S. Forest Service who asked her to keep an eye out for the eagles.

“She once said, ‘All I wanted todo was see inside the nest,'” said Jenny Voisard, media manager for the nonprofit. “Little did she know, she was going to create something so huge.”

In 2015, she helped launch the organization’s livestream cameras, which provided a look into the daily life of the area’s bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow. She became the organization’s go-to wildlife expert as thousands watched the eagles’ passionate effort to keep their eggs warm through rain and snow. 

“Right now, Sandy wanted us to keep going and move forward and continue the things she worked so hard to start and do,” Voisard said. 

Aside from the eagles, Steers deeply cared for every person, plant and animal in Big Bear Valley.

“She was really kind and lovely human,” neighbor Melissa said. “I remember running into her at the post office once, and everyone was so excited, like she had given birth to three eagles. It was adorable.”

The Outdoor Writers Association nominated Steers for the Outdoor Californian of the Year for her organization’s efforts to protect rare and endangered wildlife, including her work with the bald eagles.   

“Sandy Steers truly exemplifies the spirit of the outdoors through her efforts to conserve the natural environment while helping to enhance and expand opportunities for outdoor recreation in California,” OWAC Member Barbara Steinberg wrote in 2023. “Her efforts to preserve nesting sites for Big Bear Lake bald eagles and open space in the region including helping to save a rare pebble plain and a threatened paintbrush flower which is listed on the federal and the state endangered list, and only exists in Big Bear Valley.”

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