A proposal that could put in place critical habitat rules on 10,633 square miles of Maine’s North Woods will be aired Wednesday in Orono.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will first hold an informational session then a public hearing on a proposal to designate critical Canada lynx habitat under the Endangered Species Act. The Canada lynx is a federally threatened species.

In total, approximately 26,935 square miles of land are within the boundaries of the proposed critical habitat designation. That includes 10,633 square miles in portions of Aroostook, Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, and Somerset counties. Land in northeastern Minnesota and the northern Rocky Mountains and an area of the northern Cascades in Washington are also is in the habitat plan.

Critical habitat designation identifies areas that have features essential for the conservation of a threatened or endangered species and may require special management or protection.

The public comment period on the proposed rule ends Feb. 7.

State Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department biologists as well as their federal counterparts have been tracking Canada lynx in Maine over the past decade. They’ve determined that the state hosts both breeding lynx as well as some that come and go, crossing the border between Maine and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick.