The dismal forecast recently about the future of Maine’s representation in Congress should make all of Maine, particularly this half, worried. If residents feel ignored by Washington now, the loss of a seat in the House will make the connection between here and there seem even more distant.

Charles Colgan, a former state economist, says the long-term national population shift from Northeast to Southwest will cause Maine to lose one of its two seats in the House, possibly as early as 2010, although he thinks the census in either 2020 or 2030 will more likely send one of the state’s seats south. Having one representative instead of two in a body of 435 may seem like a small matter, with the state’s senators taking up the slack, but the loss would push Maine even further from the power it once enjoyed.

Half as many representatives means Mainers will sit on only half as many committees. Committees are where the action is, where the bills are created, amendments written and favors traded. Being on a committee means being able to influence legislation while it is being formed. That’s why it was a big deal when Sen. Olympia Snowe, like Sens. William Cohen and Margaret Chase Smith before her, was appointed head of the Sea Power Subcommittee of the Senate’s Armed Forces Committee. And, for those who wonder how northern Maine will fare with a single representative, it is why Rep. Clifford McIntire has been missed.

Mr. McIntire of Perham was the last representative to serve Maine’s 3rd District, which disappeared after the 1960 census, and the last Mainer until Rep. John Baldacci to sit on the House Agriculture Committee. A champion of Maine potatoes, Rep. McIntire fought federal subsidies to Western farmers, futures trading on Irish potatoes and higher feed-grain costs to Maine’s poultry farmers. Rep. McIntire served a single term as representative in the new 2nd District, then lost in a challenge to Sen. Edmund Muskie in 1964.

It is impossible to say that Maine’s 30-year absence from the Agriculture Committee was the major source of the state’s retreat in farming, but it is no stretch at all to say it contributed to the loss. Since starting on the committee in 1995, Rep. Baldacci has ensured access to credit for farmers with value-added products, including potatoes; got research money for crops such as blueberries and potatoes; and helped pass a crop insurance pilot program for fruit and vegetable farmers. Without someone there, Maine’s interests would have been ignored.

The height of Maine’s influence in Washington and its prosperity came at the end of the 19th century, when Thomas B. Reed led the House, William P. Frye led the Senate, James G. Blaine was Secretary of State and Melville Weston Fuller, a Mainer who went west to Illinois, was chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. With rare interuption, Maine’s political influence has declined since the turn of the century. Mr. Colgan’s prediction suggests that it will continue to decline.

Doing something about this means more than putting up signs in other states inviting people to move here. Some population shifts are beyond the state’s control, but making Maine — all of Maine — a desirable place to live, not just through low taxes but with superior schools, excellent roads and attractive communities is a great way to revitalize the state. One measure might be an affirmative answer to whether Maine provides sufficient opportunity so a young family can move here with some assurance that their children can earn college educations and find satisfying employment within the state.

Until then, Maine can merely hope that census inaccuracies favor the state for a decade or two.