contributed as well. The P. Robinson Fur Cutting Company was a fur removal company sited on the Still River. During the peak of the hatting industry, mercury pollution transported via the river's current into the Housatonic River, and into the Long Island Sound. The mercury pollution was detrimental to the river's life and the surrounding ecosystems, and didn't start to fully rebound until the construction of the sewage treatment plant. Many species of fish can now be found, and kayak ramps have been installed downriver from Danbury. Cleanup and Remediation Several organizations have an interest in preserving the Still River and its watershed. Spearheaded by Danbury's Health Department, the Still River Alliance was organized in 1995 as a consortium of three different groups. Coordinated by the Housatonic Valley Association and with funding from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, key stakeholders and municipalities formed the Still River Partners group and launched an EPA approved watershed planning process to improve the water quality of the Still River, activities which are still active today. Development and Conservation The Housatonic Valley Economic Development Partnership is striving to develop a River Trail on the Still and Housatonic rivers for canoeing and kayaking. They periodically organize river clean-ups, using paid contractors and volunteers, to clear debris from the river. They also lobby for kayak put-in/out ramps. The beginning of the trail is located behind the Marriott Courtyard hotel, just off of Route 84 (Exit 8) in Danbury. Rapids interrupt the river trail in Brookfield (no portage is available), and three dams across the Housatonic require portages along the way to Long Island Sound. The Still River Preserve in Brookfield covers about adjacent to the river. The preserve is owned by Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust of New Milford, Connecticut. The city of Danbury has a $4.85 million bonding package, approved in a February 2008 referendum, for use in building recreational projects on city-owned land. A list of potential projects was prepared. It includes completing the native plant hedgerow at Lake Kenosia (part of the Still River, west of the city) and doing a feasibility study to build a boardwalk and bird-watching site on about the city owns in Mill Plain Swamp (Lake Kenosia discharges into the swamp, which drains into the Still River). A separate $6.6 million bonding package, approved in the same referendum, could be used to purchase Sanford's Pond and building a trail