Florida has gators and California has raccoons

[JenniBarra]

In CA most of the storm drain systems are separate from the sewer systems, creating a nice highway for critters. Raccoons love the storm drains for getting around. I noticed that some drains at in CA were marked as directly draining to the ocean (think DL is a closed system). Also, as we keep protecting/restoring habitat, we should expect the critter pop to increase

Yep! I live in Northern California in a community that has a lot of farm land and undeveloped land throughout. I like the fact that I get to see various wild critters from time to time. In my neighborhood, the storm drains are exactly where the raccoons hang out during the day because you can sometimes spot them at night either entering or exiting the drains. The only time I have been unhappy about them is when I came out one morning to find that someone had eaten the goldfish in my outdoor pond. I will put netting up or some other barrier if I get fish again.

 

[mmmears]

Yep! I live in Northern California in a community that has a lot of farm land and undeveloped land throughout. I like the fact that I get to see various wild critters from time to time. In my neighborhood, the storm drains are exactly where the raccoons hang out during the day because you can sometimes spot them at night either entering or exiting the drains. The only time I have been unhappy about them is when I came out one morning to find that someone had eaten the goldfish in my outdoor pond. I will put netting up or some other barrier if I get fish again.

We live in a more suburban area and they definitely get to my neighborhood through the storm drains. I'm sorry about your goldfish. That happened to someone else I know who has a creek running through his backyard so he has quite a few critters back there (opossums, raccoons, deer.) So he replaced the live fish with big, heavy, plastic goldfish. And guess what? The next morning they were still there, but they all had sharp gnaw marks on them!