The NZTA wants to buy the fronts of two reserves in the Caversham Valley, as part of proposed upgrade of State Highway 1 on the route's southern entry to Dunedin; a development projected to cost up to $25 million.
The NZTA wants a change of designation for land through the Caversham Valley as it seeks permission to proceed with a second stage of safety upgrades and road-laning expansion between Lookout Point and Barnes Dr.
For more than a decade, a colony of peripatus worms has been protected and encouraged in dank Caversham forest, next to the state highway, by DCC staff and the Forest and Bird Society.
NZTA Caversham Highway project manager Simon Underwood confirmed negotiations with the DCC were under way for the purchase of council reserve land, where the peripatus worms live.
About 20 public submissions, some from as far afield as Costa Rica and Germany, have been made to the DCC calling for the protection of the nocturnal, predatory worm's Caversham habitat.
Mr Underwood said NZTA was in discussions with several Caversham Valley landowners, which include the DCC.
"We're progressively acquiring land, yes, but these are private negotiations with private parties," he said.
The DCC owns the .5ha Lookout Point reserve at the upper end of the valley near the Mornington Rd intersection and the 3.4ha Caversham Valley Forest Reserve.
An ecological assessment commissioned by NZTA from Opus Consultants says the "tree-covered south-facing aspect" of the reserve sites create "cool, constantly moist conditions ...
that is an ideal habitat for peripatus".
The proposed improvements would remove about 0.5ha of tree-covered reserve land, a clearance of land which "is possibly occupied by peripatus", the report says.
The peripatus population in the area, known as Peripitoides novaezealandiae, is not a species classified as threatened, although there is a "reasonable likelihood" the population found in the Caversham Valley is a "unique species or genus not found beyond Dunedin city", the report says.
DCC community and recreation services manager Mick Reece said negotiations with NZTA about the sale of council reserve land were ongoing and included discussions about managing the peripatus habitat.
A proposed overbridge across the Caversham Valley Highway at Lookout Point, connecting Mornington and Riselaw Rds, is the standout feature in the second stage of roading developments, designed to address safety concerns and improve travel efficiency on the southern SH1 Dunedin route.
A public hearing is expected to be scheduled in October.
