In my town they get blown into piles by the wind and end up clogging all the storm drains, so the town is pretty strict on clearing leaves from your yard.
I compost mine over the winter, and then I have fresh fertilizer for trees in the spring. But most people just have a dozen trash bags in their yard until garbage day. Too bad.
I clear them a reasonable amount away from my house, because they may not be litter but they are a fire hazard where I live. But they still get to naturally decompose in dedicated spots.
Oh yeah that's true. I don't let them pile up right against the house. I'm not going to rake and bag them though. Trees have been here a lot longer than we have, they probably know what they're doing better than we do.
I live in the city but I get birds that are usually only found in the forest because they like to forage in the fallen leaves! It does make a difference.
If you have a few trees you can just mow over the leaves right on the lawn which breaks them up enough for your fall fertilizer if you don't have a use for them. The last few years I've been using mine to compost in place my gardens. Haven't had to bag since