THAT: The Five Valleys Land Trust and the City of Missoula have requested that the Board of Regents approve a contingent reciprocal easement agreement involving the Trust, the City and the University as described in the Regents� Information Item submitted on this matter at the 23-24 September 1999 Board Meeting.

EXPLANATION: The Missoula City Council has approved during the week of 1 November 1999, funding the City�s acquisition of the non-University Mount Sentinel tract described in the 23-24 September Information Item as part of the City Open Space program in concert with the Trust. The City requires an easement through University Golf Course property to gain access to the newly acquired property for fire prevention, weed eradication, safety risk prevention, site management and site maintenance purposes. The University in turn will require an easement through the City-acquired tract to reach University-owned land on Mount Sentinel for similar purposes. Interested parties have been contacted by the Trust and the City regarding the City acquisition decision and the proposed reciprocal easement, and to date no one has objected to either. The City has expressed a financial need related to the site acquisition for obtaining Board of Regents� approval of a reciprocal easement by late November 1999. The University considers this reciprocal easement in both the University System�s and the public�s general interest, and therefore requests Board approval of an easement contingent upon an agreement deemed legally acceptable by University and University System Legal Counsel, and executed by the relevant parties.