Outdoors Reporter

Mark Heinz

Mark Heinz covers the outdoors and wildlife for Cowboy State Daily.

He previously worked or freelanced for numerous newspapers and magazines across Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, covering all manner of news and feature stories. He has a strong background in topics related to wildlife, hunting, and wildlands conservation. He's written extensively since the 1990s about the controversies surrounding wolves, grizzly bears and mustangs.

He also enjoys people-centric stories with quirky edge of humor and has written several such pieces for Cowboy State Daily.

Mark lives in Laramie with his wife, Kendy, and the youngest of their five children.

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Latest from Mark Heinz

One of 10 wolves reintroduced to northern Colorado in December 2023.

Wandering Colorado Wolf Transplanted From Canada Logs 1,230 Miles Around State

Colorado’s reintroduced wolves have been making tracks all over the state, including one female that’s logged more than 1,200 miles. At least two are also known to have ranged into Wyoming.

Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

A 47-year-old man from Florida was gored when he approached too close to a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Sunday. The National Park Service reported the goring Wednesday, confirming it’s the first of the season after two gorings in 2024.

Florida Man Is First Bison Goring Of The Season At Yellowstone National Park

A 47-year-old man from Florida was gored when he got too close to a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Sunday. The National Park Service reported the goring Wednesday, confirming it’s the first of the season after two gorings in 2024.

Clair McFarland & Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

Grizzly 399 Offspring Hit And Killed By Car In Grand Teton

Grizzly 1058, a male from Grizzly 399’s famed 2020 litter of quadruplets, was confirmed dead on Tuesday, after apparently being hit by a vehicle in Grand Teton National Park.

Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

ATF agent demonstrates firing a Glock pistol with a switch attached to make it full-auto in this video posted by WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana.

States Move To Ban Glocks Over Worries They Can Be Made Fully Automatic

There’s already a ban on “Glock switches,” devices that can make the semiautomatic handgun fully automatic. Now some states are trying to also ban Glock pistols themselves.

Mark HeinzMay 05, 2025

This adorable little critter photographed Sunday near Baggs is a ringtail. A distant relative of raccoons, ringtails are usually associated with the desert Southwest and are a rare sight in Wyoming.

Ringtail, Rare In Wyoming, Spotted Near Baggs — And Game And Fish Wants It

Ringtails, a distant cousin of raccoons, are a rare sight in Wyoming. A Baggs-area family spotted and photographed one, and Game and Fish hope to trap and release it somewhere safe from dogs.

Mark HeinzMay 05, 2025

9-year-old Mikey Jonnassen of Casper is pictured here with his mom Shantae Smith, stepdad Roy Smith and younger sisters Kinsley and Ella Jonnassen. The family hopes to find a service dog to help Mikey with his medical needs.

After Surviving A Brain Tumor, Casper Boy Can’t Wait To Get A Service Dog

After Mikey Jonnassen was diagnosed with a brain tumor, doctors told his mom that he would spend the rest of his life bedridden. But he wasn’t having any of that. Now he’s walking, talking and looking forward to a service dog.

Mark HeinzMay 04, 2025

Proposal To Change Landowner Hunting Tags Targets ‘Hunting Club’ Market

A proposal to more than double the amount of land needed to qualify for landowner hunting tags would favor Wyomingites over out-of-staters, supporters say.

Mark HeinzMay 02, 2025

A screenshot from video taken at Oxbow Bend along the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park shows an audacious coyote creeping up and biting famous bear Grizzly 610 on her backside – because she was raiding the coyote’s food stash.

Daring Coyote Bites Grizzly 610 On The Butt — Without Getting Torn To Shreds

A coyote wasn’t about to let Grizzly 610, one of Wyoming’s most famous bears, get away with raiding its food along the Snake River on Monday. The coyote boldly snuck up and bit her on the butt — then avoided getting torn to shreds by the annoyed bear.

Mark HeinzMay 02, 2025

Fences can sometimes prove to be fatal barriers for Wyoming’s wildlife.

Mapping Countless Miles Of Fence Could Save Wyoming Wildlife From Gruesome Deaths

Wyoming deer, elk and antelope can suffer gruesome deaths when they get entangled, so mapping out the state's countless miles of fences are can help save wildlife, researchers believe.

Mark HeinzMay 01, 2025

In a screenshot from a video, the popular Grand Teton grizzly named Bruno breaks through while trying to ice fish.

Video Shows Bruno, Sire Of Many Of Grizzly 399’s Cubs, Isn't Great At Ice Fishing

Bruno the grizzly — best known for likely fathering many of Grizzly 399's cubs — recently tried his paws at ice fishing. While Alaska bears feast on fish, biologists say it’s a rare sight for bears in Grand Teton, and video shows Bruno's not great at it.

Mark HeinzMay 01, 2025

A Dozen Antelope Illegally Shot Near Kemmerer, Including Several Left Suffering

In an apparent case of mass wildlife thrill killing, 12 antelope were shot near Kemmerer, including several that were wounded and left to suffer, Wyoming Game and Fish reported.

Mark HeinzApril 30, 2025

This video shows one of two wolves that have reportedly been hanging out and attacking ranchers’ cattle in Sierra County, California.

Frustrated Californians Say Protected Wolves Have Them ‘Under Siege’

Frustrated Californians in Sierra County report wolves have them "under siege," attacking cattle and making their way into neighborhoods, including an elk slaughtered on someone's front porch. Wolves are protected in California, so nobody can touch them.

Mark HeinzApril 30, 2025

Other Authors

With LaPrele Dam Gone, Douglas-Area Farmers At ‘The Mercy Of Mother Nature’

The aging and crumbling LaPrele Dam near Douglas has been demolished, leaving farmers scrambling for what little irrigation water is left, saying they're now "at the mercy of Mother Nature." A new dam might be built by 2028 and could cost $187 million.

Mark HeinzApril 30, 2025

Shooting signs might seem like a redneck cultural tradition, but it costs taxpayers big money, and has gotten some public recreation areas closed to shooting.

Game And Fish Sick Of People Blasting Their Signs With Gunfire

Shooting signs might seem like a redneck cultural tradition, but it costs taxpayers big money. It’s also prompted Wyoming Game and Fish to close some public recreation areas to shooting.

Mark HeinzApril 28, 2025

Montana Anglers Fend Off Charging Grizzly With Gunfire

Two anglers were charged by a grizzly and scared it off by shooting at it in the popular Red Rocks Lakes National Wildlife refuge in southwest Montana. It’s another area where grizzlies are expanding their range.

Mark HeinzApril 28, 2025

A Casper-based startup company, Cabin Maven, offers cabins, R.V. sites and tent-camping sites off the beaten path.

Rustic Airbnb RV And Cabin Rentals Are For Those Not Quite Ready To Rough It

As Wyoming continues to draw outdoors thrill-seekers, one entrepreneur thinks he’s found the ideal niche market. Airbnb-style rentals for people who want to avoid the mobs but aren’t quite ready to rough it.

Mark HeinzApril 26, 2025

Punt guns are essentially waterborne cannons that can slaughter up to 100 waterfowl in a single blast. Their use helped fuel the push toward conservation and regulated hunting.

When Hunters Would Massacre Entire Flocks Of Waterfowl With Giant Punt Guns

Punt guns are essentially waterborne cannons that can slaughter up to 100 waterfowl in a single blast. Because punt guns were so devastating to the bird populations, some states started banning them for hunting as far back as 1860.

Mark HeinzApril 26, 2025

Left, Ashlea Roberts and her dogs Pistol, Recon, and Nitro with a rattlesnake Roberts caught for her dog-training clinic. Right, Jerry Colson and his dog Charlie with one of the family's finds.

Just As Rattlesnake Season Starts In Wyoming, Pet Vaccine Drying Up

A vaccine that helps protect dogs against rattlesnake venom might soon be unavailable, just as rattlesnake season begins in Wyoming.

Mark HeinzApril 25, 2025

Study Says One Wolf Can Cost Ranchers More Than $160,000 In Losses

Wolves in California are costing ranchers millions of dollars far beyond just the price of cattle killed, according to a new study. A Wyoming rancher says the secondary costs of predation are well-known here.

Mark HeinzApril 25, 2025

Kevin Christopherson has used trail cameras to capture numerous images of wildlife on land he owns in the Box Elder Canyon area south of Glenrock.

Proposed Limits On Landowner Hunting Tags Could Cut Out Many Property Owners

Hunters worry that a plan to more than double the amount of land that people need to own to qualify for landowner hunting tags could cut out property owners across Wyoming.

Mark HeinzApril 24, 2025

Anatolian Shepherds are huge livestock guardian dogs fierce enough to chase off grizzlies and wolves. And it turns out that they’re also great at keeping an eye on toddlers.

Local Rancher Not Surprised Anatolian Pyrenees Dog Rescued Lost Arizona Toddler

Montana rancher Lauren Stoddard told Cowboy State Daily that she wasn’t the least bit surprised by the account of an Anatolian Pyrenees rescuing a lost toddler in Arizona this month. “These dogs identify need," Stoddard said.

Mark HeinzApril 24, 2025

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