You have to look really, really hard, but there’s some good news about the environment these days, too.

It gets lost in the political argument over climate change, President Trump’s rebuke of the Paris Agreement and so on. At least in some parts of the country, environmentalists and conservationists can find reason to smile.

According to the web site, “Outside,” new wilderness land was created in 2018. Some 20,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, and 640 acres of Arkansas’ Flatside Wilderness, were protected. Those pushing for protection were Republicans - Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Arkansas Rep. French Hill.

When such efforts are attempted in western states, they meet with opposition that often comes from Republicans. Utah, Oregon and Montana have been home to fierce debates. According to an analyst with Pew Charitable Trusts, wilderness and outdoors issues are treated as local issues that, unlike the western states, are not easily defined by political affiliation.

More good news for conservationists: 82 dams in 18 states were deemed obsolete and removed in 2018. In California alone, 35 dams were removed. These actions help restore native fish habitat and improve the ecological balance of riverbanks, according to wildlife experts.

Seven western states, including resource-gulping California, agreed to a drought contingency plan for the Colorado River. It changed the “use it or lose it” policy for farmers, who now have more incentive to use water judiciously.

Then there are the sandhill cranes, which were so close to extinction that, in 1916, the United States passed laws to protect them. But these migratory birds have made a dramatic comeback, and in Alabama, 400 permits (drawn by lottery) will be granted. Permit holders will be allowed a maximum three birds - the first legal hunting of sandhill cranes in Alabama in 103 years.

The limited hunting is considered a tribute to the success of conservation, rather than a step backward into wanton slaughter.

Outdoors enthusiasts also cheered the reversal of a policy that boaters could not use a section of the Potomac River, which is adjacent to the Trump National Golf Club, while the president was golfing there. After the Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington filed suit, the Coast Guard reopened a section of the river for boat use.

Environmentalists are applauding the movement away from single-use plastic bags. They point to the 18 billion pounds of plastic waste dumped into the world’s oceans each year. When a whale was found dead in the Philippines, 88 pounds of straws and plastic bags were found in its stomach.

The courts have blocked the Trump Administration on several actions opposed by environmentalists. The president’s supporters are frustrated by these legal defeats, but conservationists aren’t.

Climate and environmental news continues to be dominated by gloomy reports and forecasts, but there are encouraging stories as well. That nourishes those who fear the world is literally going to you-know-where - not in a hand basket, but in a single-use plastic bag.