ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Capitol Reef National Park’s historic orchards are pretty special. In the Utah park, you can find heirloom fruit varieties planted by pioneers, and they’re more than just fun to look at. They could be a type of climate insurance for the food system. But old trees are dying, and new ones are getting harder to find. David Condos of member station KUER reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF GRASS RUSTLING)
DAVID CONDOS, BYLINE:
Capitol Reef is a mostly unforgiving, rocky, desert landscape, but its orchards sit in a lush green valley - a meandering oasis that follows the path of the Fremont River. The park’s Shauna Cotrell wades through waist-high grass in the shade of a giant apricot tree.
