Valerie Eliot husband's work "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats". This became the hit Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats". With her portion of the proceeds Valerie Eliot established "Old Possum's Practical Trust" – a literary registered charity – and funded the T. S. Eliot Prize. In late 2009, the second volume of Eliot's letters was published. The third volume, edited by Valerie Eliot and John Haffenden, followed in July 2012. She donated the £15,000 annual prize money for the T. S. Eliot Prize. Valerie Eliot died on 9 November 2012 at her home in London. Valerie Eliot Esmé Valerie Eliot (née Fletcher;
Leadbeater's possum Leadbeater’s possum involving protection of remaining old-growth stands, and maintenance of younger stands that are allowed to attain hollow-bearing age. The combination of 40-year-old regrowth (for food) and large dead trees left still standing after the fires (for shelter and nesting) allowed the Leadbeater's possum population to expand to an estimated peak of about 7500 in the early 1980s. From its peak in the 1980s, the Leadbeater's possum population was expected to further decline rapidly, by as much as 90%, due to a habitat bottleneck. The population has dropped sharply since 1996. Particularly, the February 2009 Black Saturday bushfires destroyed