Can you tap maple trees on public land in Pennsylvania?

State forest rules prohibit, "without written permission of the Department," any "cutting, picking, digging, damaging or removing, in whole or in part, a living or dead plant, vine, shrub, tree or flower" (17 Pa. Code § 21.115(a)(1)). The only self-serve exception is gathering edible wild plants or plant parts for personal or family consumption (§ 21.115(b)(1)) — that covers berries and ramps, not drilling a tree. DCNR issues paid permits for other forest products (firewood cutting permits come from the district office), but we found no maple sap or sugarbush permit, lease or bid program anywhere on DCNR's pages or in the rules. Whether a district forester would grant written permission for tapping is not confirmed; the district office is the place to ask.

State park rules carry the same prohibition: "cutting, picking, digging, damaging or removing ... a living or dead tree, shrub or plant" is prohibited except with written permission of the Department (17 Pa. Code § 11.211(a)(1)). Pennsylvania Game Commission state game lands are governed separately and were not checked.

The Allegheny National Forest's permits page (updated August 2026) says you need a permit to collect fuelwood and for commercial uses, and don't need one to gather edible material like morels — it says nothing about maple sap or tapping. The federal rule underneath prohibits damaging or removing any tree or forest product without authorization (36 CFR 261.6), so ask the district office whether it will write a forest-products or special-use permit (not confirmed that it does).

Forests in Pennsylvania: Allegheny National Forest

Town, county and roadside trees

County parks, township and borough land and street trees need permission from the government that owns them; no statewide rule or program for tapping local public land was found (local programs were not surveyed). Pennsylvania's timber-conversion statute applies to any owner, public or private.

Private land you don't own

Get the owner's consent. Pennsylvania's civil statute on conversion of timber doesn't mention sap or tapping, but anyone who cuts or removes another person's timber without consent owes three times its market value if the act was deliberate, two times if negligent, and single value if they reasonably believed the land was theirs, plus appraisal and survey costs (42 Pa.C.S. § 8311); theft of timber is also a crime with restitution (18 Pa.C.S. § 1107). A written lease is the norm for tapping someone else's woods; UVM Extension's annotated sugarbush lease is a widely used template.

Lease rates seen in the sources: No Pennsylvania-specific survey was opened. UVM Extension's 2019 survey of 312 northeastern producers found the most common rent was $1.00–$1.24 per tap per year, then $0.50–$0.99 ("Maple Rental Rates," January 2020).