Category: State News

Southwest Colorado was once a national hub for unique apple varieties. Today, a group of hard cider artisans are restoring the local orchard economy.

Sometimes Jude Schuenemeyer will find an apple tree that he just can’t identify. With over a hundred unidentified varieties in southwest Colorado, the tree could be one of any number of rare or endangered specimens. If Schuenemeyer is lucky and the tree is hanging with ripe fruit, he can take a crunchy, juicy bite into an apple and taste a flavor that has been forgotten for nearly a century. “It blows you away,” Schuenemeyer says.

A hundred and twenty years ago, Montezuma County was a hub for the state’s apple industry, with thousands of trees dotting the mountainous, high-desert terrain. Though neglected for decades, today these historic trees are finding a new market as a budding craft cider industry takes root in southwest Colorado. Continue reading at 5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine…

BY MARGARET HEDDERMAN
October 18, 2021

The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project can be described as many things: an agricultural project, an economic development project, a history project — even an apple scavenger hunt.

Jude and Addie Schuenemeyer founded MORP in 2014. It has several orchards in Montezuma County. The Schuenemeyers’ own orchard and nursery in McElmo Canyon grows more than 200 different apple varieties.

One of their main goals is to preserve every kind of apple grown in Colorado.

Sometimes that involves a treasure hunt — like the Schuenemeyers when he set out to find the Thunderbolt apple. Listen to and read full story at CPR News.

By Carla Jimenez and Nancy Lofholm | September 2, 2021

Photo by Hart Van Denburg/CPR News, August 30, 2021.

All apples are not alike, as any apple-phile will tell you, and the deeper you fall under the spell of heirloom apple varieties, which number in the hundreds, the more you will hunger to try them. You’ll want to start small if you don’t own an orchard, though, and there’s no better place to begin planting those roots than the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. MORP’s mission is to preserve and restore Colorado’s heirloom orchards, and it sells trees to fund the nonprofit’s work. Currently you can choose varieties online at $60 each, but you have to pick them up, by appointment. It’s a long drive to Cortez, but it’s worth it.

By Westword, 2021 Best of Denver

Roughly a year ago, a Colorado couple found a species of fruit on a tree near Cañon City that was long believed to be extinct. With the help of their non-profit, Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project, they’ve been able to produce trees that they’re now auctioning off to help grow and preserve this endangered plant species. The name of the fruit the trees produce? An apple dubbed the Colorado Orange.

An apple that was popular in the 1800s as a winter fruit, the flavor of the Colorado Orange grows more complex over time, known for a hint of citrus flavor. Unfortunately, the apple fell out of popularity due to other varieties of apples becoming more popular – specifically, the brightly colored Red Delicious. Eventually, the Colorado Orange grew so sparse that it was considered extinct.

Those with a green thumb (or enough money) will now have the chance to participate in the comeback of this unique fruit.

Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is hosting five auctions for five trees. Bidding starts at $100, but the price of the first tree climbed to $2,020 before it was sold on October 3 to someone in Kansas. Continue reading at The Denver Gazette…

By Spencer McKee | Oct 6, 2020

Directions to Orchard Hub: 13729 Road 29, Dolores, Colorado : THIRD DRIVEWAY ON THE WEST SIDE OF ROAD NORTH OF SOUTHWEST SEED

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Orchard Hub

By The Nature Conservancy | July 20, 2020

In the southwestern corner of Colorado, thousands of historic apple trees dot the landscape, producing an estimated 50,000 bushels of fruit that currently go to waste. Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP) hopes that one day soon all those apples will be turned into juice. This hope is one step closer to reality as they have now acquired a new property to serve the community as an “Orchard Hub”. The property purchase was made possible through a successful capital campaign with major support from The Nature Conservancy, Gates Family Foundation, Kenney Brothers Foundation, El Pomar Foundation, Onward! A Legacy Foundation, and individual supporters of MORP.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has partnered with MORP on both the purchase of the property and the restoration efforts. The 36-acre property located just north of Cortez provides a place to launch the on-the- ground efforts MORP began contemplating more than a decade ago. The partners plan to demonstrate water conservation in orchards while saving Montezuma County’s rare and endangered apples and turning them into a value-added product, such as juice or cider. This work will preserve the area’s unique heritage while providing local farmers with a reliable income for their fruit for the first time in a generation.

Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project was started with a goal to preserve Colorado’s fruit growing heritage and restore an orchard culture and economy to the southwestern region. In the early 1900s, apples were a big part of the economy in southwestern Colorado along the Dolores River. In fact, apples were once Colorado’s main fruit crop. But over time, apple orchards gave way to hay, alfalfa and other crops that were more lucrative—and also more water intensive.

“Bringing back apples is not only about preserving the past,” said MORP Co-Director Jude Schuenemeyer. “Apples use less water than other common crops in the area, and historic, wide-spaced orchards provide habitat for native pollinators, wildlife and plants. By testing irrigation strategies and looking into reviving apple production, we can increase the understanding of how to best provide food and manage water sustainably for the area.”

MORP plans to convert their 36 acres from flood-irrigated pasture grass back to an heirloom apple orchard. There, The Nature Conservancy will help MORP improve irrigation efficiency and showcase efficient water use practices, such as drip irrigation and soil moisture monitoring, to local farmers. By planting native grasses between the trees, like buffalo grass and blue grama, the soil will hold in more moisture and the whole area will become more resistant to drought.

The Nature Conservancy became involved in the project as a way to investigate and test options for switching crops to conserve water. Crop switching can be a tool to benefit both rivers and the rural communities that depend on them.

“We are excited to support MORP’s efforts to address water use and community resiliency,” said Celene Hawkins, Western Colorado water project director for The Nature Conservancy in Colorado. “This partnership will enable us to learn more about the benefits of crop switching and what it could mean for water use in southwest Colorado.”

MORP is also involving the local community at every step of the process. By building a classroom, hosting community events, working with Americorps volunteers and partnering with local farmers, the organization is aiming to make orchard cultivation replicable for others in the region. This new property will be a hub to make this work possible.

“I see this as a community-based project that supports local agriculture, while also helping the region think about its options in an increasingly dry future,” added Hawkins.

MORP is also using the historic orchard property to create a genetic bank for the rare heirloom apples they’re saving. All these efforts are pointed toward reviving the apple economy on a broader scale.

See related link: Water Conservation in Orchards