Guerrilla maple tapping

I live in an area that has practically no native maple trees big enough to tap. However, in overgrown areas around local towns and parks one can often find many non-native norway maples that have volunteered from seeds coming off trees in people's yards. These are very hardy trees and can grow in surprisingly harsh climates. They are seen as "invasive" by many people, but to me they are a potential source of delicious maple syrup.

I do have my own property, but no maple trees growing on it and if I wanted to plant some it would probably be at least 20 years before I would be able to tap them. Therefore my strategy for homemade maple syrup is guerrilla maple tapping.

In my town we have a river running through it that is publicly accessible for fishing with many pullouts on the side of the road to park. All I had to do was find a spot along the river with a pullout and some maples and bingo easy access. This road is also between my home and town where I work so it is easy to pull off and check the buckets every day or 2 and collect the sap while I'm commuting or running errands in town.

I have several spots now and I try to set up the buckets in a way so that it is not obvious to people driving by or parked at the pullouts. Maybe a random fisherman might notice one every now and then, but they are on somewhat of a steep bank so I don't think anyone would put in the effort to bother them. In some areas they are also somewhat camoflauged by brush so I think that may help people from messing with them, but generally I'm not too worried. Also during maple tapping season it is still pretty chilly out so I just find it hard to believe people are going to mess with them.

Another thing I think about is the legality of it, but I've never heard of the idea before and it is technically on public land since it is public access to fisherman so I don't really see why it would be an issue. But I just thought I'd share my experience with this since it could be something cool someone could do who still lives in a city or town, but wants to forage for some of thier food and develop the skill to make maple syrup!

If it's on public land and you're being discreet, not doing damage or creating a nuisance, why not? It's no different from picking berries or mushrooms. The only time the authorities might show interest is if someone complains.