Ann Arbor wants residents to stop tapping its trees for maple syrup

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - A Michigan city has a message for residents: There's nothing sweet about tapping publicly owned trees for maple sap.

Ann Arbor takes great pride in its leafy environment.

As the weather gets warmer, Ann Arbor is warning people not to poke trees in parks or along streets.

Spokesman Robert Kellar says the city will remove equipment attached to trees.

Kellar says tapping the maples makes them susceptible to disease and insects. It's OK for an Ann Arbor resident to tap a maple on their own property.

The college town takes great pride in its leafy environment.

Ann Arbor says a 16-inch-diameter sugar maple at a home provides $149 in benefits each year, especially in energy savings.