Jack:
>I apologize for my earlier post on this subject. Thirteen hours of hard birding had shattered my otherwise fairly solid geographical grasp. It was quite obvious after a re-read that the reference was to Vancouver, WA...not Vancouver, BC. All flames acknowledged but otherwise unanswered. Kelly, I hope you can use the info re. the Fraser Delta possums somehow.
>

If it's any consolation, I lived in Washington about 3 years before it
really sunk in that there is a Vancouver *WA*. When I here 'Vancouver'
now, I sitll have to pause and figure out whether I should be thinking
north or south of Seattle.

Don Baccus (Jack has a similar comment about Vancouver):
>But only one possum record in Vancouver, WA? That blows MY mind
>as in Portland, possums are as common as mosquitos at Malheur in
>June.

Just to clarify, the number of museum records does not indicate abundance
(sigh) any more than rare bird sightings. In fact, museum records
are highly skewed towards convenient collecting locations, locations
near universities, and animals at the edge of their range (where they
get noticed as oddities). In Washington State, the Township/Ranges
with the greatest number of specimens are those that contain a University
museum (Walla Walla leads the pack) and a few in Mount Rainier NP, Mt. Baker,
NP, and the north entrance to Olympic National Park. Vancouver, WA is
moderately well represented but not nearly as well as Seattle, Tacome,
Pullman, and Walla Walla. Road kills in Vancouver just aren't as likely
to end up in a museum as road kills in Seattle. If you keep 'em in
the freezer too long, the roommates get upset.

Kelly Cassidy