Record winter snowfall made conditions just right for the severe flooding this summer that is blamed for three confirmed deaths.

Environmental consultants, engineers, zoning administrators and state employees gathered last week to talk about the response to the disaster and study ways to lessen the risk of flooding to communities in the future at the annual Wisconsin Association for Floodplain, Stormwater and Coastal Management conference at Kalahari Resort in Lake Delton.

Speakers from the Wisconsin Emergency Management Department, Better Environmental Solutions and The Nature Conservancy spoke about the humanitarian response to the floods, biomass buffers and the value of maintaining natural floodplains to prevent more massive flooding in other areas.

Wisconsin Emergency Management Hazard Mitigation Officer Roxanne Gray summarized the state's response to the floods that occurred from June 5 to July 25, in particular the distribution of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.

The June flooding closed interstates in South Central Wisconsin and led to the overflow of Lake Delton, but many communities in other parts of the state experienced severe flooding too. According to Gray, there were 31 Wisconsin counties that were declared federal disaster areas. She compared it to the 47 counties declared federal disaster areas under the 1993 floods. The flooding in the June 5 to July 25 period this summer took three lives and cost $763 million in damages, she said.

The Wisconsin Emergency Management Response to flood disasters entails a number of different services. In order to be eligible for the funds counties have to have a response plan in place that is updated every five years.

"About 85 percent of the counties have a plan right now," Gray said, adding that Sauk County is included among them.

During June and July Wisconsin Emergency Management filled 700,000 sand bags and with other organizations operated 35 shelters that housed 2,623 people. Meals served numbered 77,065. The department reported that 2,500 wells were tested and 28 percent of them were contaminated. The flooding set records on 38 river gauges.

Gray said the state administers a number of mitigation programs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She said $54 million was approved for FEMA's Individual Assistance program for home repairs and rental assistance. In small business loans the department gave out $45 million. And 9,800 people visited the state's 16 Disaster Recovery Centers for information.

Under the Public Assistance Program, which aids local municipalities to cover the cost of sandbagging, police services and damage to public structures, $88 million in damages was reported.

After her presentation, Gray said the state focuses its flood mitigation efforts on buying flooded buildings and destroying them. Deed restrictions are put in place so the land in a flood prone area cannot be developed again. Gray said its considered the "best long-term solution."

The owner applies for the program so the sale of the land to the government is voluntary. The state buys the property at fair market value and the sale allows the owner to buy a different home.

Gray said hundreds have applied for acquisition, and the state could spend between $25 million and $35 million on the effort.

Other speakers discussed different ways to cope with flooding. Brett Hulsey, president of Better Environmental Solutions, a consulting firm, said farmers can reduce crop loss to flooding by planting what he calls biomass buffers. Under his plan, farmers could grow native grasses, willows and poplars instead of trying to replant crops in fields that have flooded.

Not only would the natural flood barriers protect against flood and improve water quality, but could be a source of biomass for power plants and cellulosic ethanol production.

Hulsey also said in a news release that the biomass buffers lower the risks of severe climate change.

He said biomass buffers can also generate money for farmers that is competitive with what they can collect for producing corn. Better Environmental Solutions estimates farmers can make $50 a ton with biomass buffers as compared to $4 per bushel of corn.

According to a 2007 report from the firm, Wisconsin can cut its dependence on coal in half with the biomass it has. The firm states 60 percent of Wisconsin's "green" energy is generated from biomass and wood.

Jonathan Higgins, senior ecologist with The Nature Conservancy, also sought to promote a balance between protecting property from flooding and maintaining conditions that are friendly for wildlife's need to reproduce.

He advocated more cooperation among communities in flood barrier design and allowing levee setbacks, placing levees further away from a river channel, to provide more area for fish and other aquatic species to reproduce in shallower waters.

"It's not coordinated. It is almost like each city is out there for itself to see who can build bigger levees, and it's just a race to build bigger levees...Certain places it makes sense, but not everywhere," he said.

Higgins said The Nature Conservancy is not being antagonistic. "We're trying to illustrate the win-win situations to society with flood risk and biodiversity, and we can do that at the same time," he said.

The group supports wet prairie and wetland restoration in Wisconsin.