The seeds for this organization had been planted in a landslide mitigation plan which was generated by Colorado's Presidential Declaration of disaster in 1984. The chair of the council, Ronald W. Cattany, the Deputy Director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, has overseen a major restructuring effort since assuming the chair in November of 1995. The council has been streamlined with specific taskings to the members and new organizations and people have been brought into the group. New partnerships have been initiated with the Rocky Mountain Insurance Council including their sponsorship of a mitigation workshop for the contracting, real estate, banking and insurance industries. The membership is diverse with individuals from state, local, and federal governments , academic institutions and the private sector.
All members are volunteers with no remuneration.
The council meets at least once a year. The organization has a steering committee and a coordinator for certain administrative functions. Currently, Marilyn Gally, the State Hazard Mitigation Officer of the Colorado Office of Emergency Management, is the council coordinator. Overall strategy will be guided by the recently formed Policy Advisory group. The council is organized into committees of a hazard specific or technical nature.