ORONO – Federal officials heard arguments for and against designating nearly 11,000 square miles of Maine forestland as critical habitat for Canada lynx during a meeting held Wednesday night.

Roughly 60 people turned out at the Black Bear Inn for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s public hearing over a proposal to require an additional layer of federal review for select projects planned in areas deemed prime habitat for the federally protected lynx.

The eight citizens who spoke were evenly divided over the critical habitat designation proposal.

Supporters view the designation as another method to ensure lynx populations have room to thrive in the northern third of Maine.

Landowners and sportsmen oppose the move, describing it as at best unnecessary and at worst a precursor to tighter restrictions on land use compelled by environmental groups.

“It’s not really about biology anymore, it’s about the politics of the situation, and that’s what distresses us,” said Patrick Strauch, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking to designate nearly 27,000 square miles of forestland in Maine, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota and Washington as lynx critical habitat in response to lawsuits filed by environmental organizations.

The designation, which is being compelled by a 2004 court order, would require that any project receiving federal dollars or involving federal review undergo another round of scrutiny if the project takes place in critical lynx habitat.

Work projects on privately owned land within critical habitat areas that do not receive any federal dollars or are not required to receive federal review will not be affected, officials said.

Weighing generally between 20 and 25 pounds, the reclusive Canada lynx was just another forest-dwelling ghost or rumor in Maine until the late 1990s. That was when a pair of kittens found in the Allagash region proved to skeptical biologists that the cats were, indeed, living and breeding in Maine.

Since then, biologists have aggressively tracked lynx populations and now estimate that between 200 and 500 of the cats may live in the state.

Kenneth Elowe, director of resource management for Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said Wednesday the lynx population proves Maine is already doing a good job protecting its habitat. The department believes the designation is unnecessary, he said.

“Almost all that is known about the lynx in the northeastern U.S. is a result of our efforts here,” Elowe said.

Supporters of the measure disagreed, arguing that both Maine and federal agencies are protecting lynx populations today only because they were forced to do so by the courts. They urged the federal officials to expand the proposed critical habitat region to include more of New England.

“Because Maine is the only state in the Northeast where lynx now occurs, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to do all we can to ensure the future of Canada lynx in their core northeastern habitat,” said Aram Calhoun of the Maine Audubon Society.

The fact that the Fish and Wildlife Service itself is a reluctant participant in the critical habitat process came through clearly in a Nov. 9 announcement of the proposal in the Federal Register.

The announcement states the critical habitat designation program “provides little real conservation benefit, is driven by litigation and the courts rather than biology, limits our ability to fully evaluate the science involved, consumes enormous agency resources, and imposes huge social and economic costs.”

The agency is accepting public comments through Feb. 7 and is required by court order to complete the designation process by next November.