Dryad Fire Detection System

Installation Underway

Cordillera Metro District is continuing to lead wildfire detection efforts in Eagle County with the installation of our community's Dryad early wildfire detection system.

The CMD Community Operations team has installed more than 400 of 750 sensors, and 11 of 20 towers have been put in place to provide infrastructure for the network that will link all sensors together for accurate and timely reporting.

See the outline map below showing pins where sensors have been installed already (blue) and where sensors will be installed (white) to complete the project. Much of the work is being done in remote, steep, and challenging terrain, so kudos to this crew!

Employees from the Bachelor Gulch Metro District have been working alongside our team to learn about the installation process as they consider their own deployment in the spring of 2027.

To highlight the impact of this technology, just last week Dryad sensors detected a wildfire in Italy in less than 10 minutes, helping save a large area of forest and numerous homes.

We continue to be incredibly thankful for the support of Eagle Valley Wildland as we adopt this technology in Cordillera and for their expertise in guiding us from concept to installation over the past year.

Click the link below to find out more about the Dryad early wildfire detection system:

DRYAD NETWORKS

Wildfire Mitigation Update

First of all, thank you, Cordillera property owners, for your engagement in wildfire mitigation on your property this summer and for your recent participation in the special assessment vote to help fund additional wildfire mitigation projects that will begin in Cordillera open space this week and continue through the fall.

Crews on the ground will be using hand equipment and operating machinery including a masticator and flail mower to create new fuel breaks, which reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire by creating a low-fuel buffer zone to prevent fire from advancing. Strategic fuel breaks can also provide access for firefighting crews in the event of a fire.

As with other open space wildfire mitigation projects already complete in Cordillera, new fuel breaks will have many benefits beyond protecting our community from fire:

In areas treated by CMD's masticator, mulch left behind promotes growth of native grasses and wildflowers. This mulch also improves soil quality and moisture retention while helping reduce erosion.
Fuel breaks are reseeded with beneficial vegetation, which provides food for foraging wildlife.
Fuel break areas regrow into fertile, high-alpine prairie landscapes.
Wildlife use regenerating fuel breaks as movement corridors.

We invite all homeowners to stay engaged on this topic and to join the CMD Board at the upcoming meeting to be held on Friday, August 14. See details below, and be on the lookout for the meeting agenda and supplemental materials, which are sent out to all homeowners in advance of the meeting.

CMD Regular Board Meeting Notice

The August Cordillera Metro District Board meeting will be held:

Friday, August 14, 9:00 AM

Cordillera Metro District Admin Building

408 Carterville Road

Community members are invited to attend in person or via Zoom video conference. Public notification of the meeting, including the meeting agenda, will be sent out in an email at least two days prior and will include the Zoom video conference link.

Gate Transponder Upgrade in Progress

In 2023, we began transitioning to a vehicle-specific clear headlight transponder for homeowners, club members, and property managers. These transponders offer the highest gate access security available, and we are discontinuing all older-style transponders, which include black plate-mounted and tan box-style transponders.

If you already have a headlight-style transponder. You're good to go!

If you are using an older transponder style like those pictured at left on one or more of your vehicles, you must upgrade to the clear headlight-style transponder.

To upgrade your transponder, here are the next steps:

Upgrade to the headlight transponder between now and Friday, August 28, 2026, to ensure that your access to and from the community continues without interruption.
If you or a vehicle is out of town, please email your return date to info@cordillerametro.org, and we will extend your deadline for replacement.
Please bring your vehicle(s) and current transponder(s) to the CMD Admin Office. The new transponder must be affixed to the vehicle by CMD staff.
The CMD Admin Office is located at 408 Carterville Road, Edwards, CO 81632. The office is open Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
There is no cost for this upgrade.

If you have questions, please email info@cordillerametro.org or call the CMD office at (970) 926-1923.

Thank you for your continued efforts to uphold our gate security standards in the Cordillera Metro District and Cordillera Valley Club.

Wildlife Focus: Fawn Facts

Deer fawns are active at this time of the year and have been seen out ambling around Cordillera, getting their long, spindly legs underneath them. Fawns in Cordillera are primarily mule deer fawns born in the late spring through mid-summer.

Be on the lookout for fawns in Cordillera as they continue to gain mobility, and get to know your new neighbors with these fun fawn facts:

Upon birth, an average fawn will weigh about 5-10 pounds, and it will stand within the first 12 hours after birth.
Newborn fawns produce little to no scent, making it very difficult for predators to detect them while they stay still.
When a predator or human approaches, a fawn's natural reaction is to lie completely flat and motionless rather than run away.
Fawns are born with reddish-brown fur covered in white spots, which naturally blend into tall grass, brush, and forest floors.
The white spots typically fade after the first one to three months as the deer become more active.
Finding a fawn alone does not mean it is abandoned or orphaned; the mother is almost always nearby. Never touch, pick up, or try to care for a fawn or other young animal.
Fawns stay with their mothers during the summer and are weaned in the fall, but they may continue to stay with their mothers for up to two years.

Enjoy watching Cordillera fawns at a distance as they grow up this fall. Find out more from Colorado Outdoors in Nature Knows Best: Don’t Disturb Young Wildlife.

Community Water Conservation Update

—Message from ERWSD—

Community-wide conservation efforts reduced total water use by 24% so far this summer, driven in part by an estimated 41% decrease in outdoor irrigation. If community members continue to conserve water through the rest of summer and the monsoons bring us much needed rain, we'll be able to prevent moving into the next stage of water shortage restrictions.

We’d like to take a moment to express gratitude to our customers. Your actions this summer have led to incredible outcomes and positively impacted our water supply during this historic drought. Let’s keep it up as we head into the hottest, driest stretch of summer.

Now is the time to start thinking about next year. Many landscapers and residents make landscaping choices now on what they will plant next year. What if that stretch of lawn that you don’t use became a bed of native grasses instead? What if next spring's planting list included drought-tolerant natives like penstemon, blanket flower, and yarrow, rather than thirsty non-natives that would struggle through another dry summer?

Lawn removal is one of the best ways to cut outdoor water use. Every square foot of grass replaced with native plants, mulch, or “Coloradoscape” is water that doesn't need to be pulled from the river next July. It doesn't have to be all-or-nothing, either: converting even a side yard or a strip along the driveway can make a meaningful difference. Not ready for a full overhaul? Smaller shifts count like grouping plants by water need, adjusting sprinkler heads off pavement, planting annuals in pots instead of beds, or simply embracing a smaller lawn footprint. Now is the time to talk to your landscaper or HOA about what you’d like to do differently next year.

We hope this summer is an anomaly, but the reality is that hotter, drier summers are likely in our future, and the way we use water outdoors needs to change with them. Let's get back to living like a local and embracing the mountain environment we love. For drought-tolerant plant lists and turf conversion resources, talk to your landscaper or visit beyondlawn.org.

Thank you for all your efforts and for thinking ahead.

The Chipper Returns in September

After a break in July, Cordillera's chipping program will return in September. As temperatures begin to cool off, limb up trees and take other wildfire mitigation measures on your property for curbside pick-up. Thinking ahead to next month, here are a few details and reminders:

Stack your piles by Sunday, September 14, to participate.
Staging and stacking is allowed up to 10 days in advance.
Piles will be picked up following September 14.
Please note that this program is for curbside woody debris pickup: trees, logs, and branches up to 15 inches in diameter and 15 feet in length.
We're NOT accepting other yard waste, grass clippings, trash, weeds, bags of leaves, or other items listed in the DO and DON'T sections below.

Questions? Call the CMD Admin Office at (970) 926-1923 or email home@eagleriverfire.org.

Let's Horse Around, Cordillera!

When is the last time you rode a horse? If the answer to that questions is never...or so long ago that you can't remember, get back in the saddle this month. The Cordillera Equestrian Center offers riding lessons for homeowners, visitors, and guests of all ages, and we welcome you to join in on the fun, whether that's for a single lesson or for ongoing learning.

For more information, please contact CEC Manager Annie Morris at amorris@cordillerametro.org or call (970) 376-7295.

CORDILLERA EQUESTRIAN CENTER