MISSOULA — Missoula's network of conservation easements and open space could grow by 23 acres if the city accepts a fully donated parcel near the North Hills.
SEV Enterprises, owned by Peter and Kristen von Doersten, is donating the proposed Gleneagle Conservation Easement to the city.
The project carries no up-front costs, though future trail and maintenance work would carry some expenses.
Zack Covington, the city's planning and land acquisition manager, said the proposed easement would abut the popular Bluebird easement and nearby Allied Waste open space project.
“It's all becoming pretty popular,” said Covington. “There's a lot of demand for trails up there right now.”
The Gleneagle site holds a number of values, providing winter range for elk, protecting scenic views and the globally rare Missoula phlox.
It also blocks in more of the North Hills open space cornerstones and protects intact grasslands, Covington said.
At some point, the city is planning to connect Grant Creek via a trail to the Rattlesnake along the Glacial Lake Missoula shoreline. The network of easements would help advance that goal.
“It would be a very generalized bench trail that would follow the Glacial Lake Missoula shoreline area,” Covington said. “It's not delineated, but it's a cool idea people have grabbed on to.”
The City Council will consider the donation next week.
“The conservation easement — the landowner would like to be closing on that by the end of the year,” Covington said. “We still have a little time to negotiate that trail easement.”
