Click to view entire image

Some of the apple orchards at Capitol Reef National Park need to be replanted to maintain good production/NPS file

As imposing and impressive as the landscape at Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is, more than a few visitors relish their stops in the park because of the fruit orchards there, which long have sustained varieties lost to the marketplace. But even those orchards can be lost, which is why the park staff is proposing a replanting project for some of the orchards.

Back in the 1880s when they moved into this part of Utah, Mormon families quickly nurtured orchards that provided produce they earned a living from by selling it to neighboring communities. 

"Smallish Fruita may not have been well suited for the grain economy of the high valleys, but it was ideal for one product in great demand on the frontier - fresh fruit," George Davidson, who arrived at Capitol Reef in 1980 and went on to become its chief of interpretation, wrote in Red Rock Eden, Story of Fruita, one of Mormon Country's Most Isolated Settlements. "Pioneers planted varieties of apples that have almost disappeared or are completely gone from today's Fruita apple orchards -- apples like Jonathan, Rome Beauty, Ben Davis, Red Astrachan, Twenty-ounce Pippin, and Yellow Transparent."

Ahh, but not all varieties vanished, at least not from Capitol Reef. More than two dozen varieties grow today in this red-rock landscape that's watered by the Fremont River and its tributaries. Some, such as the Jonathans, McIntoshes, Winesaps, Red Delicious, and Granny Smiths, still can be found in a well-stocked grocery. But where else might you find a display of Ben Davis, aka "Mortgage Lifter," a variety that can be traced to Virginia in 1799; or Grimes Golden, which dates back to 1804 in West Virginia; or the Red Astrachan, which is thought to have roots extending back "several centuries" to the banks of the Volga River in Russia?

The orchards of the Fruita Rural Historic District are one of the largest in the U.S. National Park System and are significant to the park’s history and cultural heritage. They provide valuable fruit harvest and educational opportunities that can be enjoyed by all visitors. Several orchards have lost most of their original trees and with continued losses expected, replanting is needed to maintain their historic integrity.

“Many orchards are in decline due to old age, disease, and other factors. It is essential to begin sustained replanting of park orchards to maintain the integrity of the Fruita historic landscape” says park Horticulturist Fritz Maslan. 

Work planned for 2021 will focus on the Guy Smith and Cook orchards and will consist of removing remaining trees and then regrading and amending soils to revitalize orchard soil health. In 2022, historically appropriate saplings will be planted.

Capitol Reef staff now is seeking public comments on this replanting project. The project will initiate long-term rehabilitation of several historic Fruita orchards. To provide comments and learn more about the Orchard Rehabilitation Project, visit the Planning, Environment, and Public Comment site.  

Lessons learned from this project, including input from the public, will inform upcoming orchard projects that sustain this precious resource into the future. There are several ways to comment, either virtually or in-person: 

•           February 25 at 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mountain time: virtual public meeting via webinar, 

•           February 26 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mountain time: on-site public meeting, 

•           March 4 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mountain time: on-site public meeting.  

The virtual public meeting will be open to all interested parties. The on-site public meetings will be limited to 30 participants each and hosted at Capitol Reef National Park, site to be determined later.  

To participate, visit the project website at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/careorchardrehab.