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.
Latest from Mark Heinz
It’s Mating Season, Which Means Bears Are Beating The Crap Out Of Each Other
When love is in the air among bears, it’s not exactly lovely. This is the time of year when male bears beat the crap out of each other, because it's mating season. That means bears in Wyoming and all over are fighting for access to females.
Mark HeinzJune 15, 2024
After State Kills 3 Wyoming Bighorn, Wildlife Researcher Questions Policy
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department killed three bighorn sheep that wandered into Sinks Canyon State Park out of concern for disease, but a local wildlife researcher questions the need for the killings.
Mark HeinzJune 15, 2024
Calif., Other States Still Grabbing For Wyoming’s Share Of Colorado River Water
Fighting between California and other states over Wyoming's share of water from the Colorado River, which is partly fed from Cowboy State sources, isn’t likely to be resolved anytime soon, a pair of experts say.
Mark HeinzJune 14, 2024
Video Captures Black Bear Chomping On Trail Camera On Wyoming - Montana Border
Steve and Nancy Cerroni set up trail cameras around the Pryor Mountain wild horse range near the Wyoming-Montana border to monitor mustangs. But a black bear stole the show Tuesday when it chomped on a local trail camera.
Mark HeinzJune 13, 2024
Park Service: Don’t Try That ‘Secret Route’ To Jackson, You’ll Get Stuck In Snow
The National Park Service on Thursday advised travelers not to try the "secret route" Cowboy State Daily wrote about on Wednesday. Reclamation Road, between Idaho and Jackson, will be snowbound at least through Monday. Even then, it’s not a great road to take.
Mark HeinzJune 13, 2024
Wyoming Gun Dealers: Don’t Lie Like Hunter Biden Because You’ll Get Caught
After President Biden’s son Hunter was convicted Tuesday of lying on the background check form for a firearms purchase, some Wyoming gun dealers say they’re not surprised, because that’s a stupid move and nearly impossible to get away with.
Mark HeinzJune 11, 2024
Observers Say Yellowstone’s White Bison Is the Real Deal, Plan Ceremony With Native Elders
Although Yellowstone officials have yet to confirm the birth of an extremely rare white bison calf in the park last week, observers say they've seen it recently and Native American elders are planning to celebrate its birth.
Mark HeinzJune 10, 2024
Park Rangers Rescue 8 When Raft Flips, Strands 8 Overnight On Snake River
Grand Teton park rangers rescued eight people stranded overnight Saturday from a section of the Snake River called “The Black Hole." A whitewater guide told Cowboy State Daily the area is known as a truly gnarly and dangerous stretch of river.
Mark HeinzJune 10, 2024
With So Much Fentanyl in Wyoming, Even Game Wardens Packing Narcan
Fentanyl has become such a problem in Wyoming’s war on illegal drugs that Wyoming Game and Fish Department game wardens will start carrying Narcan to treat overdoses.
Mark HeinzJune 09, 2024
Wyoming Has Two Of The Three Remaining Animal Shelter Gas Chambers In US
Two of the three gas chambers in the United States still used for euthanasia at animal shelters are in Wyoming, one in Green River and the other in Evanston. And those who say it’s a cruel and inhumane way to dispose of animals want the gas chambers shut down.
Mark HeinzJune 08, 2024
After Wastewater Discharge, E. Coli Found At Some Boysen Reservoir Sites
The Wyoming Dept of Environmental Quality on Friday said there’s an “elevated risk of illness” from E. coli contamination in Boysen State Park after wastewater was discharged from the town of Hudson into the Popo Agie River last month.
Mark HeinzJune 07, 2024
Deer 255, Wyoming’s Famous Record Long-Distance Doe, Dies In Red Desert
After trekking untold thousands of miles back and forth across Wyoming on record-setting migrations and gaining worldwide fame, Deer 255 has died. The deer met her end in the Red Desert, likely taken down by a mountain lion.
Mark HeinzJune 07, 2024
How Eating Porcupine Brains Can Save Your Life When Lost And Starving In Wyoming
“Rabbit starvation,” or protein poisoning, is a real risk for people trying to survive in the Wyoming wilderness by eating only the red meat of what they catch. One expert says eating the brains of porcupines could save your life.
Mark HeinzJune 07, 2024
Yellowstone Says Grizzly With Five Cubs The Most Ever Recorded In Park
A spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park on Thursday said since records have been kept in Yellowstone, this is the first time they've witnessed a grizzly with five cubs.
Mark HeinzJune 06, 2024
Idaho Wardens Kill Bear In Crowded Park; Is Region In For Another Busy Bear Year?
There was trouble with black bears all over the Rocky Mountain West last summer and this year is getting off to an early start. Idaho game agents on Sunday killed a bear in a crowded city park. It could be an indication that this summer could be another doozy.
Mark HeinzJune 06, 2024
Holy Cow! Yellowstone Grizzly Has Five Cubs, Topping Grizzly 399’s 2020 Quadruplets
Among grizzlies, twin cubs are somewhat common, triplets are rare and quadruplets rarer still. That’s why a Yellowstone tour guide on Wednesday was so surprised to see a grizzly with quintuplets — five cubs.
Mark HeinzJune 05, 2024
Rare Wild White Bison Born In Yellowstone, Photographer Gets Photos
A rare white bison calf was born late Tuesday in Yellowstone National Park. A wildlife photographer originally thought it was a coyote until she looked back and saw the calf. "It was amazing," she said.
Mark HeinzJune 05, 2024
Two Children Stomped, Injured By Elk In Estes Park, Colorado
In separate incidents less than a week apart, two children were injured by irate cow elk protecting their young in Estes Park, Colorado. The town is overtaken every spring and fall by a massive elk herd with Wyoming roots.
Mark HeinzJune 05, 2024
Would Hunting Grizzlies Make Bears Fear Humans More?
While everybody agrees that Wyoming’s grizzly bears are intelligent animals, there’s a growing debate in wildlife circles about whether that means hunting them would make the bears fear humans more.
Mark HeinzJune 04, 2024
Boysen Reservoir To Be Tested For E. Coli After Dump Of 210,000 Gallons Of Wastewater
A discharge of 210,000 gallons of wastewater Thursday or Friday from the Hudson, Wyoming, treatment lagoons into the Little Popo Agie River, prompted the state to plan E. coli testing at Boysen Reservoir.
Mark HeinzJune 04, 2024
Having Grizzlies For Neighbors Just A Fact Of Life Near Cody, Wyoming
As Wyoming’s grizzly population continues to grow, they’ve become common outside of Cody. Famed outdoors writer Jim Zumbo says it's no big deal and going to an ATM in Denver is riskier than having a grizzly for a neighbor.
Mark HeinzJune 01, 2024