AUGUSTA – In an eleventh-hour bid to derail the redevelopment of an aging Bass Harbor fish-packing plant, a statewide historic preservation group circled the wagons Monday in preparation for tonight’s final stand before the local planning board.

The action occurred as Maine Preservation, a 30-year-old nonprofit organization, targeted the renovation of the Underwood Cannery in the Bass Harbor section of Tremont as one of the state’s top three endangered historic properties in its annual listings Monday.

The preservation group said some Tremont residents and the Mount Desert Island Historical Society share its fears that a conversion of the old cannery into condos would irrevocably change the character of the working fishing village.

That’s a “bogus” charge, according to Richard Campbell, the on-site construction manager for the Underwood Cannery project. The former state representative from East Holden and a Republican candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat, said the majority of Tremont’s residents back the project.

If approved by the Tremont Planning Board, the cannery’s 17,000 square feet will be converted into eight condominiums that the builder said could sell for more than $300,000 each.

Campbell has long been an ardent supporter of preserving Maine historical sites.

He was a moving force behind the creation of the Gen. Joshua Chamberlain park at the intersection of North Main and State streets in Brewer. And he is raising money to pay for a statue memorializing a site in the park as a station for runaway slaves during the Underground Railroad era.

Campbell said the implication that the Bass Harbor condo project amounts to an insensitive assault on Bass Harbor’s heritage is discouraging to him.

“I think my record for standing up for Maine’s historic sites is pretty well documented,” Campbell said. “But I’m afraid that Maine Preservation is just wrong on this one. This sounds more like a situation where people are simply opposed to change of any kind.”

Roxanne Eflin, executive director of the Portland-based Maine Preservation, countered that there are good reasons to oppose the cannery project. In a news release, she said her organization seeks to make the public aware that Maine’s architectural and cultural heritage faces a variety of threats, including “inappropriate development” and “insensitive public policy.”

The 89-year-old Underwood Cannery is Bass Harbor’s largest building and has been vacant since the mid-1970s.

“Its redevelopment has the singular potential to dramatically alter the character and economy of this working waterfront community,” Eflin said in the news release.

The preservation group is particularly disappointed that the planned condos required zoning variations that were approved by the Tremont Zoning Board of Appeals.

“Vocal concerns about the continued deterioration of the building, combined with the lack of other use proposals associated with its fishing industry origins, have backed the planning board into a corner,” Eflin said. “Yet the building and its wharf remain imperiled as demand for scenic coastal residential development opportunities continues to soar along the coast of Maine.”

Campbell said Monday that “nobody’s backed into any corners” in Tremont. “They’re all just relieved that something is finally going to happen to the building that will have a positive impact on the tax base.”

Campbell said he was aware of only one resident who was opposed to the project that is being financed by the building’s owner, Robert Flynn of Bangor. He said it would be wonderful if a coastal-related industry would suddenly appear to give new life to the old building. In the meantime, he said, its mortared facade is crumbling away one brick at a time.

“This building will be gone if we don’t go in and improve it,” he said. “The face bricks are falling off. For the last 20 years, the owner has tried to market this building to the maritime industry without success. There is no reuse for that building except for this.”

Eflin said the preservation group made its recommendations based on statewide nominations. Final selections were made after a review by the preservation outreach committee and the Maine Preservation board of trustees.

Besides the Underwood Cannery, the group also identified the deterioration of eight historic buildings on Swan Island in the Kennebec River near Richmond and the proposed demolition of several Victorian-era houses in Augusta’s Bond Street neighborhood as two other historic properties on its most endangered list.