Environment and Outdoors

Authorities confirmed Tuesday that a New York City woman was attacked and killed by a great white shark off the coast of Harpswell earlier this week. It’s the first recorded fatal shark attack in the state’s history.

The coast of Maine is home to a number of whales. Humpback, minkee and pilot whales are a familiar sight. Less common, however, is the beaked whale. Yet, just in the last few weeks, two beaked whales - a Blainville's beaked whale, which had never been seen here before, and a Sowerby's beaked whale - stranded and died on beaches in York and Phippsburg. Maine Public's Jennifer Mitchell spoke with Linda Doughty, director of Marine Mammals of Maine, about what's known about the unusual strandings at this point.

Every year, several thousand adventurous souls set out to hike all 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail. But this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, thru-hikers have been advised to put their dreams on hold.

Some have refused.

That refusal has created tension between those who want to push personal boundaries and those who say there should be limits on public safety.

The state’s Bureau of Parks and Lands has signed a revised deal with Central Maine Power to lease a public parcel for the utility’s controversial power line through western Maine. It makes some key changes, but opponents say under the state constitution, the lease still needs to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the Legislature.

To better understand the forces and effects of climate change, National Geographic funded a mission last year to Mount Everest. The expedition was documented in a special called "Expedition Everest," which will air Tuesday night on the National Geographic Channel. The lead scientist on the expedition was the University of Maine's Paul Mayewski, who heads UMaine's Climate Change Institute.