Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law May 7 at Des Moines Beach Park a series of legislation to protect and restore Puget Sound.

State Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, headed the effort in the state House of Representatives to get the legislation passed.

At the signing ceremony, Upthegrove recalled his parents taking him to Burien's Seahurst Park to play on the beach and to the Des Moines Marina pier to fish.

"I want my four-year-old niece, to have the same benefits I did." Upthegrove remarked.

Before signing the bills, Gregoire said, "In Washington, we are fortunate to be blessed with breathtaking natural beauty and an unparalleled quality of life.

If we want to keep it that way, we have more work to do to protect the jewel of the Northwest-Puget Sound. Today, it looks beautiful on the surface but beneath the surface, it is sick and in some places dying."

Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler commented that signing the Sound cleanup bills "is truly fitting in the Waterland City."

The ceremony brought other political bigwigs to Des Moines besides the governor.

Also attending were U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton, state Department of Natural Resources director Dough Sutherland and Bill Ruckelshaus, chairman of the Puget Sound Task Force.

Gregoire announced the appointment of Ruckelshaus to chair the leadership council of the Puget Sound Partnership. The group will integrate the work of state, local and federal governments to oversee clean up and restoration by 2020 of the Sound's environmental health.