OLYMPIA, Wash. – A coalition of Whatcom County farmers and landowners is asking for state support to fix what they call a salmon restoration disaster.

In a letter to Governor Jay Inslee, the group said thousands of acres of salmon habitat is being threatened due to an administrative error at the federal Farm Service Agency.

Farmers were told in August that the FSA would be reducing or canceling up to 334 contracts with landowners across the state beginning in October.

Those contracts are key to funding riparian buffers that maintain water quality, shade and other factors along rivers that keep habitat safe for salmon and other diverse species.

The coalition is urging the state to help prevent a “massive erosion of trust” in the government’s salmon conservation initiatives.

They are asking for $2 million over the next two years to mitigate the effects of the lost funding from canceled contracts.

Whatcom Family Farmers, the Washington State Dairy Federation and Bellingham-based Sustainable Connections were among the 14 signatories of the letter.