Santa Clarita Watershed Recreation and Conservation Authority

This joint powers authority was established in 1993 by the City of Santa Clarita and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in order to cooperatively plan for preservation of open space, trails, parkland, and watershed protection in the Santa Clarita area and the upper Santa Clara River Watershed.

In 2002, the Santa Clarita Watershed Recreation and Conservation Authority (SCWRCA) finalized the City’s and Conservancy’s longstanding efforts to acquire Whitney Canyon Ranch. The 442-acre property was the first to be owned by SCWRCA, heralding a new phase in the cooperation between the entities. In addition to its one million dollar contribution to the purchase price of the property, the City also appropriated $300,000 for initial site improvements, which were made by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority under a cooperative agreement with SCWRCA.