A bill sponsored by Washington 14th District State Representative Gloria Mendoza to preserve Washington’s rare and historic apple varieties was signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson during a ceremony at Yakima’s Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.  House Bill 2525 establishes a statewide heritage orchard program to identify and register historic orchards and catalog rare or “lost” apple varieties across Washington.  The new law defines a heritage orchard as one containing at least five apple trees more than 74 years old or an orchard that includes at least one tree of a rare or lost apple variety.  The program will be administered through Washington State University.  Washington produces more than 60% of the nation’s apples, but many historic varieties have disappeared from commercial production over time as the industry has focused on fewer, high-demand apples.  Mendoza said the registry program will help ensure those unique varieties are not lost.