Andy Shepard has heard the scuttlebutt, as he puts it.

If the U.S. Biathlon Association is moving to Maine, why not to Aroostook County, where sites like the 10th Mountain Lodge in Fort Kent and the Nordic Heritage Ski Center in Presque Isle actually host biathlon competitions, instead of Portland?

Shepard, the president and chief executive officer of the Maine Winter Sports Center, said he’s heard rumblings of talk from people wondering why the USBA was moving from Colchester, Vt., to Portland, as was announced last month, and not to northern Maine, where all the biathlon events occur.

There are two parts of the answer to the question, Shepard said. First, two of the major financial supporters of biathlon are based in Portland. Second, the groups involved are hoping a relocation from Vermont to southern Maine is a way to get the entire state involved in biathlon.

“This is a very positive thing for Aroostook County,” said Shepard, who is in Presque Isle this week for the U.S. team trials for the World Junior Championships. “By engaging the entire state, I think, it adds more momentum to building an economic engine for Aroostook County.”

The association’s move is part of a six-year, $1 million deal that Portland-based Banknorth struck with the USBA, which governs biathlon in the United States.

There was no discussion of putting the USBA in Aroostook County when the Banknorth deal was being hashed out, Shepard added. The Maine Winter Sports Center will, however, host the 2005 Olympic Trials next December, which was part of the arrangement.

As for the money issue, both Banknorth and The Libra Foundation, a private foundation that has given monetary support to the MWSC, are located in Portland. The Jan. 24 announcement was held at the Libra Foundation’s offices near the city’s Old Port section.

“Without the support of southern Maine companies like the Libra Foundation and Banknorth, a lot of the infrastructure development would not have been possible in the first place,” Shepard said. “They’ve been a part of the Maine Winter Sports Center since the beginning and they’ve helped support some of our most important events.”

Moving the USBA office to Portland also puts the association closer to media in central and southern Maine, Shepard added, which the various organizations hope will attract more people to northern Maine.

“The economic model of [successful biathlon in Aroostook County] depends on our ability to draw people from other parts of the state and the rest of the country and the world,” he said.

Other upcoming events at the MWSC include the 2005 Paralympic Nordic World Championships in March and the 2006 World Junior Championships.

The MWSC is based in Limestone and has trails throughout Aroostook County and also has facilities in Mars Hill, Rumford, and New Gloucester.

It is hoped that the announcement of Banknorth’s commitment will spur someone to come forward with plans to build a hotel or convention center near the MWSC’s facilities in northern Maine. Although that hasn’t happened yet, Shepard said he knows there are people thinking about the situation.

“We need to create a sense of urgency in the business community and with anyone who might be in a position to help,” he said.