The possible sale of ≈34.42 acres of state land currently held in trust for the benefit of Montana Tech was recently nominated for the DNRC’s Land Banking Program by Peter Heidmann C/O of Mountain West Veterinary, LLC (current lessee). The State owns certain minerals under this tract and would retain ownership of these mineral rights if the tract is sold. The 2003 State Legislature passed statutes (77-2-361 through 367 MCA) authorizing the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to sell State School Trust Lands and utilize those funds to purchase replacement lands for the school trust through a process called Land Banking. The intent of the program is for the state to dispose of scattered tracts of land that generally do not have legal access, generate substantially less income for the trust than their relative value, or are difficult for the DNRC to manage. The funds generated from sales are then used to purchase property that is blocked or contiguous to state land, has legal access, has potential for increased Trust revenue, and consequently is more efficient to manage. In 2005 the Department began accepting nominations from lessees and DNRC personnel for state tracts to be considered for sale under the program. Nominations were evaluated and the State Board of Land Commissioners (Board) prioritized parcels to sell.