I'm wondering if building Fort Ross a little bit to the north-say, in Vancouver Bay-and a half-century earlier might have done it. I don't think it requires a whole heck of a lot of effort, necessarily-IIRC, the entire Afrikaner ethnic group is descended from less than 1,000 Dutchmen the VOC brought over. If we have Russia bring a similar number of colonists into the area sometime in the 18th century, and have the area not fall into non-Russian hands until at least the mid-19th century, I think it might work. If Russia still holds it up to around 1900, it might be a destination for some of the non-Jewish Russians who IOTL immigrated to Canada and the US.
Further thoughts?
Further thoughts?