Environmental news has few bright spots these days, but here’s one: The population of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal species has reached 1,500 for the first time in more than two decades. 

Is there still work to do? Yes. The seals’ habitat is still under duress from climate change, and there’s a resource management challenge to handle where fishing becomes competitive between humans and the seals.

But the recovery is an encouraging sign that intervention for endangered species can succeed.