Fruit trees planted by homesteaders over a century ago still survive across the high desert. We work to find, identify, and preserve them, teaching the community to care for the old orchards and cloning the trees so their genetics survive into the future.
We search old homestead sites and public lands for surviving fruit trees, then tag, map, and photograph each one for our public Tree Registry.
Working with the U.S. Forest Service, we DNA test the trees to figure out what the homesteaders actually planted, which has put names on 57 varieties so far.
At our workshops and public orchard days, volunteers learn to prune neglected trees, cut back encroaching juniper, and repair fences. Since 2024 more than 80 trees have gotten this treatment.
We graft cuttings from the rarest trees at our conservation arboretum, so no variety is lost as these trees reach the end of their natural lifespan.
The McCoin homestead
Some of these trees have been standing for more than 140 years. The homesteaders who planted them are long gone, and in many places the trees are the only thing left to show a family ever lived there. Many of them are old varieties you rarely see anymore, so we’re documenting and preserving them while they’re still here.
Several times a year we get a crew together at one of the orchards. Some people run pruning saws and pole pruners, some haul brush, and some end up on ladders in the crown of a hundred-year-old apple tree. No experience is needed, we teach everything on site, and the trees look a little better every season for it.
Many of the orchards we care for sit on public land, so we work closely with the U.S. Forest Service on everything from fencing to DNA sampling. Leaf samples from each tree are genotyped and compared against thousands of known varieties. In 2026 we partnered with the Forest Service to write the Crooked River National Grassland Orchard Management Plan (PDF), a guide for the short- and long-term care of the historic orchards.
Our workshops cover pruning, grafting, and the general care of old fruit trees. Our public land orchards are a resource that belongs to all of us, and teaching people to look after old trees keeps that knowledge in the community while giving everyone a reason to come out and work on something together.
Whether you’re a volunteer, orchardist, historian, apple nerd, or simply someone who loves local history, you can help preserve Central Oregon’s orchard heritage.
The Heritage Apple Corps is a fiscally sponsored project of Discover Your Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit for the Ochoco, Deschutes, and Crooked River National Forests dedicated to promoting the discovery of these public lands by enriching the experience of visitors, building community support, and creating the next generation of environmental stewards. EIN: 91-0921955
Preserving the past. Protecting the future. One tree at a time.
Heritage Apple Corps