WA SB6090

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

The program must maintain a registry of heritage orchards, provide preservation resources, propagate rare and lost apple cultivars for backyard and commercial production, and develop a list of rare and lost apple varieties

A "heritage orchard" is defined as 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

Half of North America's approximately 20,000 known apple varieties from 1900 have become extinct; Washington residents have rediscovered at least 29 varieties previously thought to be lost