Marine biologist : Diane Cowan has worked with lobster breeding since 1996 off the coast of New England . Sick of the snow , the ice and the brutal cold weather ? Then spare a thought for Diane Cowan who has been stranded on a island off Maine for more than a month thanks to heavy ice . With no helicopter available to pull her out and crossing the mile stretch to the mainland on foot or in a vehicle too dangerous , marine biologist Cowan has been running low on supplies . Iced-in on Friendship Long Island for the past 32 days , Cowan was delivered from hunger pangs by friends who chartered a plane to drop food and supplies for her and her dog , as the winter shows no signs of ending anytime soon . Having spent the past 15-years on the island where her nonprofit Lobster Conservancy has a six-acre lobster pond , Cowan , 54 , has said this winter is by far the worst she has known . ' I 've been iced in for 32 days , ' said Cowan to USA Today . 'The longest I 've been trapped on the island before was two weeks . ' ' I still do n't know how much longer I 'll be stuck here , ' she said . Boats have been unable to leave Friendship Harbor for three weeks after this years painful winter that has seen temperatures rarely rise above freezing . While Cowan does n't have running water she does have her dog , phone , a stove , electricity and the Internet . However , her friends began to worry about her and organized a care package which they dropped in by plane . All alone : Diane Cowan is seen here from the plane hired by her friends to air drop supplies to Friendship Long Island over the weekend . Relief is on the way : Friends of Diane Cowan load up their plane with coffee and fresh meat and dog food . Friends to the rescue : Bob Lary - shoving the first box out the window while the temperatures stood at minus 10 degrees . Remote : Diane Cowan is currently working on Friendship Long Island - which is visible in this picture as the furthest speck on the archipelago . They loaded three boxes with food and hired a pilot to fly over the two mile long and half-mile wide island so they could get low enough to drop the boxes safely . The temperature was a chilly minus 12 degrees when they made the drop . 'The pilot was awesome , ' said Bob Lary to USA Today . 'He did a couple of flyovers and got his bearings , ( then ) opened the window and said , 'Chuck it . ' And I did , twice . ' While the first box hit the roof of one of the buildings on the island , the second one made a perfect landing . ' I was thrilled , absolutely thrilled , ' said Cowan to the Bangor Daily News . 'And I also like the idea this could be done because it gives a whole new dimension to getting stuff out here longer term . ' Diane usually stocks up with two months of food to be on the safe side when she departs for the winter and keeps herself warm with a wood fire and solar panels for electricity . But next year she says she is going to bring along a small box of treats which she will label , 'Do n't open until February ' , just to be on the safe side . Low flying : The plane hired by Diane Cowan 's friends casts a shadow on the pack ice as it prepares to make its food drop . The Crew - Pam , Tomas , Ellen , Stewart Sherry and Bob who banded together to help marine biologist Diane Cowen .
Diane Cowan , 54 , has been stuck on Friendship Long Island for more than a month . Heavy ice has blocked her leaving and a helicopter has been unavailable to reach her .