The City of Scranton does not maintain a separately codified heritage-tree registry. Specimen and notable trees are protected indirectly through Chapter 434 Article I (Trees) and Chapter 358 (Shade Tree Commission), which together make it unlawful to remove or top any tree in the public right-of-way, parks, or other City-owned grounds without Shade Tree Commission or City Forester permission. Notable mature-tree resources include Nay Aug Park, Lake Scranton Watershed land, and Lackawanna State Park (Lackawanna County). Tree City USA designation acknowledges Scranton's commitment to its urban forest under Arbor Day Foundation criteria.
Scranton's tree-protection framework relies on Shade Tree Commission and City Forester authority over public-realm trees rather than a separately curated heritage-tree registry in the Code. Chapter 434 Article I (https://ecode360.com/11608793) makes it unlawful to remove or top any street, highway, alley, park, or City-owned tree without permission of the Shade Tree Commission and/or City Forester. Chapter 358 (https://ecode360.com/11603607) establishes the five-member Commission, appointed by the Mayor with City Council consent, which 'supervise[s], manage[s] and regulate[s] the planting and seeding of shade trees throughout the City of Scranton.' Notable mature-tree resources in and around Scranton include Nay Aug Park (the City's flagship park along the Roaring Brook gorge), the Lake Scranton watershed protected lands managed by Pennsylvania American Water and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and Lackawanna State Park north of the City. Lackawanna State Park trees are protected under 17 Pa. Code Chapter 11 (State Parks and Forests Use). Scranton's Tree City USA designation, awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation, requires a tree board (the Shade Tree Commission), a tree ordinance (Chapter 434), an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. Voluntary preservation tools for private landowners include conservation easements through Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area (https://www.lhva.org/) and the Lackawanna Valley Conservancy. The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association and the PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry's Urban and Community Forestry program support municipal heritage-tree inventories funded through Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2) grants.
Damage to or removal of a Shade-Tree-Commission-managed tree in the public right-of-way, parks, or City-owned grounds violates Chapter 434 Article I and is subject to a fine of up to $250 per violation under Section 1-16, plus restitution for the appraised value of the tree using ISA tree-appraisal methodology (commonly $1,000 to $20,000 for a mature shade tree). Damage to or removal of trees within a state park (Lackawanna State Park) violates 17 Pa. Code Chapter 11 and is enforced by Pennsylvania State Park Rangers. Breach of a recorded conservation easement is enforceable in the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas by the easement holder.
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