WA HB2525

Washington State University must establish a heritage orchard program to conserve rare apple varieties and preserve Washington's agricultural history

Program requirements include maintaining a registry of heritage orchards, providing preservation resources, propagating rare and lost apple cultivars for backyard and commercial production, and developing a list of rare and lost varieties

Heritage orchard is defined as either an orchard with at least five apple trees more than 74 years old, or at least one tree of a rare or lost apple variety

By 1900, approximately 20,000 apple varieties existed in North America; half have since become extinct

Washington residents have rediscovered at least 29 apple varieties previously thought extinct, often found in small homestead orchards