PORTLAND (AP) – Fire lookout and aviation control towers in Aroostook County and a former Army barracks and hospital on a Casco Bay island are among the latest sites listed among Maine’s most endangered historic properties.

Maine Preservation, a nonprofit organization in Portland that encourages the recognition and preservation of Maine’s historic sites, included six structures and one National Register historic district on its 11th annual most-endangered list.

The group made the announcement Friday near the Kennebec County YMCA in downtown Augusta, which is for sale because a new YMCA is opening in September.

Maine Preservation hopes that the developer of the old YMCA, which was built in 1914, will retain the major parts of the old building, including those that face the street.

“We believe that Maine’s traditional buildings and landscapes provide tangible links to our past and future. They are strong and contributing elements of our cultural legacy,” said Cynthia Wheelock, president of Maine Preservation’s board.

Other properties on the list include:

• The former 200-man barracks and the hospital at Fort McKinley, both endangered by deterioration, lack of use and potential demolition. Part of the fort on Great Diamond Island in Portland, in service from 1903 to 1910, has been converted to high-end homes.

• The Standish Corner Historic District, which includes six 18th- and 19th-century structures on eight acres in Standish’s village center. The dangers include potential new development, building relocation and proposed demolition.

– The 1891 J.K. Edes Building in downtown Guilford, where the natural cosmetics business Burt’s Bees began, is endangered by deterioration, lack of use and potential demolition.

– The 1920 Stockholm Mountain Fire Lookout Tower and the 1940 Houlton Aviation Control Tower, both at risk of deterioration due to lack of maintenance funds.

Of the 69 individual properties placed on the endangered list since 1996, 22 are now considered “rescued.” The remaining 47 remain “at risk,” along with six thematic property types such as Barns and Agricultural Buildings, Grange Halls and Historic Downtown “Main Streets.”

Only six endangered properties have been lost to demolition since Maine Preservation began its listings, the group said.

This year’s selections were made after a review of a record number of nominations received earlier this year.

“Endangered status does not ensure the protection of a site or provide funding, yet it continually helps to raise local awareness and helps focus the work that often leads to rescue,” said Roxanne Eflin, Maine Preservation’s executive director.

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On the Net: http://www.mainepreservation.org

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Information from: Kennebec Journal, http://www.kjonline.com/

AP-ES-07-03-06 1100EDT