PENN TWP — As last month's unusually warm weather spell lengthened, folks at the Audubon Society feared it could shorten maple sap-tapping season.

But the society will still host its sixth annual Maple Madness event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25 at Succop Nature Park, 185 W. Airport Road.

Attendees will still be able to enjoy a breakfast of pancakes and sausage topped with real maple syrup and then visit a number of sites on the park grounds that illustrate the history of maple tree tapping in Western Pennsylvania.

“There will be a guided hike that will take you through the history and science of maple tapping,” said Chris Kubiak, director of education with the Audubon Society.

“It is probably the most popular program,” he said, noting there were 200 participants last year.

Kubiak said the walking tour covers about a quarter mile over level ground. People should dress appropriately for the weather.

“We have about 50 maple trees on the property. We will have 12 tapped,” Kubiak said, using techniques and equipment ranging from Native American to colonial to modern.

“They will be able to see every aspect from Native American to the colonial period to a modern sugar shack,” he said.

Maple-tapping used to be popular in Western Pennsylvania, according to Ryan Stauffer, the park naturalist.

“People made their own maple syrup. Everyone had two or three trees in their yard,” said Stauffer.

“What we've lost in the modern world is just how much nature can provide,” said Stauffer.

Maples were the main source of sugar in the United States until the mid-19th century when the rise of mass-produced cane sugar took over the market, he said

Usually the sap begins to flow in mid-February when a combination of below-freezing nights and warmer days gets the fluid moving.

Stauffer will drill holes in the red maple and sugar maple trees he has selected. Sap drips from the taps into a bucket or plastic tube that drains into a barrel.

It takes 35 to 50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup, he said.

The sap is boiled in shallow pans to remove the water. The remaining liquid is filtered and tested for thickness with a hydrometer.

Stauffer said one tree can produce 30 to 40 gallons of sap a season. The tap holes aren't harmful to the tree and eventually close.

Kubiak said the milder days and high temperatures in February could start and end the season early this year.

He noted that once trees begin to bud, the sap becomes unsuitable for use as syrup.

Kubiak said, “I have found that in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio, the season has come earlier and earlier in the last 200 years. In the 1800s it was late February to mid-March.”

Data was compiled by farmers in weather journals, he said.

“To have it be 71 (degrees) before February is out is very unusual. Things are clearly changing, and it will have an impact on the maples,” Kubiak said.

Pennsylvania can produce so much maple syrup because the eastern United States is the only place where maples grow, Kubiak said. And the region south of the Great Lakes is subject to the freeze-thaw cycle early in the year that promotes sap production.

Despite the recent warm weather, Kubiak said those attending the event won't have to worry about running out of syrup during breakfast. The park will be using syrup from a maker in Somerset.

WHAT: Sixth Annual Maple MadnessWHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 25WHERE: Succop Nature Park, 185 W. Airport Road, Penn TownshipINFO: Pancake and sausage breakfast featuring maple syrup in the outdoor pavilion followed by a hike around the grounds, sap collection, boiling and a look at a modern sugar shack operationREGISTER: Go online to aswp.org to register.