Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, has been elected by his colleagues to lead the Legislature's new Select Committee on Puget Sound.

The committee will study ways to improve and restore the health of Puget Sound, where toxic chemicals are found at every level of the food chain from oysters to orcas.

Hundreds of thousands of fish also suffocate each year in oxygen-deprived waters Hood Canal.

"During my lifetime, Washington's orca population has dropped 50 percent and wild salmon runs have been decimated," said Upthegrove, who was born and raised in Burien.

"In Olympia I will bring together leaders from all sectors to find real solutions before it's too late to save our great waterway."

The Puget Sound Action Team has identified nearly 6,000 acres of contaminated sediment in Puget Sound. Marine bird populations have declined by as much as 96 percent and 40 Puget Sound species are listed as threatened, endangered, or as candidates by state and federal agencies.

"The time to act is now and a band-aid approach won't do," said Upthegrove, now beginning his fourth term as state representative from the 33rd District. "This committee will focus on both short-term tactics and long-term strategies to ensure Puget Sound's survival."

The select committee will consider actions to preserve the environmental health of Puget Sound and Hood Canal and to ensure that marine and fresh waters in this estuary will be able to support healthy populations of native species.

It will work to find ways to maintain adequate water quality and quantity and balance human needs and ecosystem functions.