Scranton, PA Tree Protection: Heritage & Protected Trees (2026)

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.