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

Grizzly Habitat In Yellowstone Ecosystem Is Filling Up Fast, Biologist Says

Going just by the numbers, the grizzly population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is more than double the 500 bears designated as “recovered,” a top bear biologist told the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2024

Wyoming, Utah Call For No Limits On Flaming Gorge Lake Trout

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday voted to eliminate the catch limit on most lake trout at Flaming Gorge Reservoir because they are diminishing the kokanee salmon population.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2024

As Grizzlies Fill In Corners Of Montana, Are They Closer To Mingling With Wyoming Bears?

Montana wildlife officials are telling people they should be prepared to run into grizzlies anywhere west of Billings – but it remains unclear whether a long expected mingling of Wyoming and Montana bears is imminent.

Mark HeinzJuly 15, 2024

Game Warden Involved In Wolf Torture Investigation Charged With DUI

Herbert “Bubba” Haley, one of the game wardens who investigated the capture, torture and killing of a wolf in Sublette County was charged with driving under the influence, according to court records.

Mark Heinz & Clair McFarlandJuly 15, 2024

Three friends from Rock Springs who call themselves the desert rats — John Vase, from left, Kurt Hensley and Paul Ng — have been exploring the vast, harsh lands of southwest Wyoming for decades.

Rock Springs ‘Desert Rats’ Know Wyoming’s Adobe Town Better Than Anybody

Three friends from Rock Springs who call themselves the desert rats know Wyoming’s Adobe Town better than anybody. They’ve been exploring the huge, rugged expanses of southwest Wyoming for decades and say they’ve seen only a fraction of what’s out there.

Mark HeinzJuly 14, 2024

Kelsey Mitchell, a biologist with the Teton County Weed & Pest District, collects ticks for research. Scientists are looking for volunteers to do the same.

A New Hobby? Wyoming Scientists Looking For People To Go Out And Collect Ticks

For those who can stomach the task, Wyoming scientists need volunteers to go out and pick up ticks. “We need tick wranglers, please,” entomologist Mikenna Smith told Cowboy State Daily.

Mark HeinzJuly 14, 2024

A wolf comes across a pair of snowmobilers in this photo posted by the Voyageurs Wolf Project in 2022. These snowmobilers didn't harm the wolf, but a recent incident with a wolf run down by a snowmobile in Wyoming has Congress considering a new law.

Congress To Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Outlaw Killing Wildlife By Snowmobile

The high-profile case of a Wyoming wolf run down with a snowmobile, then tortured and killed, is now on the radar of Congress. A bipartisan bill called the Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons Act would ban the practice nationwide.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2024

The Killpecker Sand Dunes in southwest Wyoming are a unique landscape that draws visitors and hunters.

Wyoming's Killpecker Sand Dunes: "Don't Drink The Water, It'll Kill Your Pecker"

The name for Wyoming’s famous Killpecker Sand Dunes is said to have originated with a soldier’s warning that the water there could have an undesirable effect upon a certain part of the male anatomy. Despite that side effect, it's a great place to visit.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2024

The sun peeks over the horizon over Adobe Town in Wyoming's Red Desert.

Traveling Wyoming: Adobe Town Is Like Another Planet In The Middle Of Nowhere

A visit to Adobe Town in southwest Wyoming’s Red Desert is like being on another planet. To get there, take the Point of Rocks exit off Interstate 80 west of Rock Springs, hit the gravel roads and keep going. And going and going.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2024

Wyoming Capitol 202420240219 capitol 9665

In Brief: Wildlife Groups Mad After Snubbed By Committee

Wildlife advocates said they were snubbed and not allowed to comment during a legislative meeting earlier this week. A co-chair of a Wyoming Legislature joint committee says it was just a technical glitch.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2024

A pair of wolves just outside of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

Animal Activists Sue To Put Wolves Back On Endangered List In Wyoming

Environmental and animal welfare groups are suing to having wolves relisted as an endangered species in Wyoming. A retired federal wildlife manager in Cody says that probably won’t happen.

Mark HeinzJuly 12, 2024

Tyce Erickson used a 10 mm pistol to stop this 1,000-pound Kodiak bear that charged his hunting guide in Alaska. The 10 mm round is popular for bear defense. Lee Francis of Evanston used a similar pistol to fight off a grizzly in the Wyoming backcountry in 2022.

Hunter Uses Handgun To Finish Off Angry, Charging 1,000-Pound Kodiak Bear

When Tyce Erickson was charged by an enraged 1,000-pound Kodiak bear, he dropped it with three shots from his Smith & Wesson handgun. He swears by the gun and told Cowboy State Daily he’ll pack it in Wyoming for his upcoming elk hunt.

Mark HeinzJuly 08, 2024

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A company called American Rounds has developed an ammo vending machine that uses AI to verify ID and legal purchasaes of ammunition.

Ammo Vending Machines Are A Thing: Would They Work In Wyoming?

Folks in Alabama and Oklahoma can now buy ammunition from vending machines in grocery stores. Wyomingites might not be ready for such a thing, especially if it cuts into sales for small businesses.

Mark HeinzJuly 08, 2024

A bear trap and warning sign are posted in an area near private cabins in the Snowy Range in southern Wyoming.

Wyoming Game Wardens Target Bear Breaking Into Cabins In Snowies

A cabin owner in the Snowy Range is hopeful that a bear that has been breaking into cabins will leave the area because if game wardens catch it, they'll likely have to kill it. "That's the policy because it's a danger to humans," he said.

Mark HeinzJuly 05, 2024

Jackson Council Passes Resolution Recognizing 'The Rights Of Nature’

A new resolution from the Jackson Town Council proclaims that nature has rights. But the town's ecosystem stewardship administrator said it's not legally binding and trees, soil and rivers won't have the same legal standing as humans.

Mark HeinzJuly 05, 2024

New Wyoming Game And Fish Director Announced On Friday, First Woman In Position

Gov. Mark Gordon announced Friday that Angi Bruce will be the new director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, She’s the first woman to head the agency and inherits a department that is financially stable but has plenty of challenges.

Mark HeinzJuly 05, 2024

Comedian Highlights The Differences Between Colorado And Wyoming On Fireworks

In Colorado, fireworks are limited to sparklers and that's about it. Cross the state line into Wyoming and almost anything goes. Comedian Taylor Calmus makes that distinction in a viral video he made showing the differences between the two states.

Mark HeinzJuly 03, 2024

A pilot suffered only minor injuries when a small plane crashed Wednesday after shutting off the plane’s fuel. The aircraft flipped while making an emergency landing in Albany County.

In Brief: Pilot Accidentally Turns Off Fuel Switch, Flips Plane In Albany County

A pilot accidentally turned off the fuel switch mid-flight on his plane on Wednesday morning and crash landed in rural Albany County. He suffered minor injuries.

Mark HeinzJuly 03, 2024

Cowboy State Daily outdoors writer Mark Heinz plays "The Star Spangled Banner" on his Stihl MS 261 chainsaw.

Reporter’s Notebook: ‘Star Spangled Banner’ On A Chainsaw A CSD Tradition

What started out as a way for outdoors writer to annoy his neighbors has become a patriotic Cowboy State Daily tradition. Mark Heinz comes in with his 2024 chainsaw rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Mark HeinzJuly 03, 2024

This young black bear was recently spotted on the west side of Sundance. Bears used to be sparse in northeast Wyoming. They’ve been moving in from other parts of the Cowboy State, as well as from Montana.

Black Bears Moving Further East, Now Pushing To Black Hills & Northeast Wyoming

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department say there's been an uptick of black bear activity in northeast Wyoming. One bear that had been tagged in the Laramie Mountain Range had traveled more than 175 miles before it was shot near Newcastle.

Mark HeinzJuly 03, 2024

Pelicans at Blackfoot Reservoir in Idaho.

Like In Wyoming, Pelicans Gobble Down Prized Yellowstone Trout In Idaho

Much like what they've been doing at some premier trout fishing lakes west of Laramie, pelicans are eating up the Yellowstone cutthroat trout population at the Blackfoot Reservoir in Idaho. They have permission to haze and kill the pelicans too.

Mark HeinzJuly 03, 2024

There’s been a boom of grizzly cubs in Yellowstone National Park this year, including this set of triplets.

Grizzly Baby Boom In Yellowstone: Unprecedented 18 Cubs In Park’s North Section

An area in northern Yellowstone National Park appears to be having a grizzly bear baby boom. Grizzly photographers, who have been in the area for decades, have counted an unprecedented 18 new cubs in a location where there’s usually fewer than a half-dozen.

Mark HeinzJuly 02, 2024

Sky Element Drone Shows uses computer choreographed drones to create patriotic Fourth of July shows.

Wyoming Won't Be Ditching Traditional Fireworks For Drones On July 4

More cities -- such as Boulder, Colorado -- are ditching their traditional Fourth of July fireworks blowouts for elaborate, computer-choreographed drone light shows. Not in Wyoming though. We still like to watch stuff explode.

Mark HeinzJuly 02, 2024

Retired biologist Gary Gaston was at just the right place at just the right time to capture this video of a rare white bison calf taking some of its first steps in Yellowstone National Park on June 4. There have been on confirmed sightings of the calf since.

Only Known Video Shows Rare White Bison’s First Moments; Hasn’t Been Seen Since

A retired biologist took the only known video of a rare white bison calf born in Yellowstone on June 4 and he shared it with Cowboy State Daily on Sunday. Nobody has seen the white bison since.

Mark HeinzJuly 01, 2024

Mustangs in the North Lander Complex of Wyoming.

Wild Horse Advocates Mad At Feds’ Plan To Cut Wyoming Herd From 3,000 To 300

The North Lander Mustang herd is one of Wyoming’s largest, with more than 3,000 horses. Starting Monday, the federal government will start reducing the herd by 90%, and horse advocates are incensed.

Mark HeinzJune 29, 2024

This pelican was shot at 9-mile Lake west of Laramie. Huge flocks of the fish-gulping birds were ruining the angling there. A special permit is required to shoot pelicans, which are a federally-protected migratory bird species.

Gun Club Gets OK To Shoot Pelicans Eating All The Prized Trout In Wyoming Lake

Hungry pelicans had nearly picked clean 9-Mile Lake in southern Wyoming of its prized trout, so the gun club that owns the lake got permission to shoot some of them to bring the fishing back.

Mark HeinzJune 28, 2024

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has put out a call to declare guns a public health crisis in America.

Wyoming Bristles At Surgeon General’s Claim Guns A Public Health Crisis

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared this week that gun violence is a public health crisis and called for an assault weapons ban. Wyoming gun owners bristled at the notion and said he doesn’t know what he’s talking about it.

Mark HeinzJune 28, 2024

A doe mule deer keeps watch over her nearby fawn in Laramie’s Greenhill Cemetery on Thursday. The doe hasn’t been aggressive toward people, but cemetery staff are warning people to keep their dogs clear, because the doe hates them being near her fawn, and will go after dogs.

Laramie Cemetery Warns Public About Aggressive Deer That Attacks Dogs

Warning signs at Greenhill Cemetery in Laramie are putting visitors and their canine companions on notice: There’s an aggressive deer hanging around and she is attacking people’s dogs.

Mark HeinzJune 27, 2024

Campbell, Park Counties Are Finalists For $10M Shooting Complex

Campbell County and Park County beat out seven other communities vying for a multi-million-dollar state shooting complex, it was announced Tuesday. Now one of them must beat the other.

Mark HeinzJune 27, 2024

People from Wyoming and several other states gathered in Washington, D.C., early Wednesday for the “A Cry For The Wild” rally for wolves.

Wyoming-Organized DC Rally Demands Ban On Running Down Wolves With Snowmobiles

While some in Wyoming defend running wolves and other predators down with snowmobiles, aka "wolf whacking," a group of Wyoming wildlife advocates rallied in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday demanding it be banned.

Mark HeinzJune 26, 2024

Soda Lake is just northeast of Pinedale and used to be one of Wyoming’s trout fishing hot spots. But lately, most of the fish died — either because of low water or algae — and almost nobody bothers going there anymore.

Once Legendary For Trout, Locals Say Pinedale’s Soda Lake Not Worth Fishing Now

Soda Lake, just northeast of Pinedale, used to be one of Wyoming’s most prized trout fishing spots. Then nearly all the fish died, and it’s not exactly clear why.

Mark HeinzJune 25, 2024

Members of the Wyoming Legislature's Joint Treatment of Predators Working Group State Sen. Fred Baldwin, right, and Wyoming Stock Growers Association Vice President Jim Magagna discuss the problem caused by the capture and torture of a wild wolf by a Daniel, Wyoming, man.

Running Predators Down With Snowmobiles Could Stay Legal In Wyoming

Despite outrage over a wolf being run down with a snowmobile in the infamous Daniel wolf torture incident, banning that practice in Wyoming doesn’t seem imminent. Some members of a legislative working group on Tuesday argued it should remain legal.

Mark HeinzJune 25, 2024

Black bears are good tree climbers, and have been known to follow people up trees on occassion.

Black Bear Defending Cubs Chases Sheridan County Man Up Tree, Attacks Him

A black bear defending her cubs chased a Sheridan County man up a tree and attacked him Saturday, leaving him with undisclosed injuries. The bear had two young cubs-of-the-year with her and attacked the man in the North Fork of West Pass Creek.

Mark HeinzJune 24, 2024

Grizzly 399 and her cub Spirit have caused some “bear jams” on the roads in Grand Teton National Park.

Grizzly 399’s Huge Cub Could Avoid Trouble That Got 2022 Cub Killed

Of Grizzly 399’s 18 known cubs, 10 have died. Her latest cub, Spirit, has a better chance to survive, one wildlife photographer said, because 399 isn't taking him around settled areas.

Mark HeinzJune 24, 2024

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

Colorado Has A New Wolf Pup, Nobody Knows Yet If There’s A Whole Litter

Roughly six months after being reintroduced to Colorado, wolves have produced at least one confirmed pup. Although it is highly likely the pup is part of a larger litter, Colorado officials won't confirm any more.

Mark HeinzJune 23, 2024

Bam-Bam was a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ram that lived in the Sinks Canyon area near Lander. After he died of natural causes in 2013, he was immortalized in this full-body taxidermy mount, on display at the Sinks Canyon State Park visitors center.

Bam-Bam The Wyoming Bighorn Loved People, Peanut Butter And Ramming Cars

He’s been gone for more than a decade, but Wyomingites still fondly remember Bam-Bam, the peanut butter-loving, flower-devouring, car-ramming Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep ram that ruled Sinks Canyon in the late 2000s.

Mark HeinzJune 23, 2024

A bear and a pair of cubs have to navigate photographers and tourists while crossing a bridge in Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone Bears Can’t ‘Scratch Hind Ends’ Without Getting On Camera

Social media feeds are flooded with photos of Yellowstone bears, but it doesn’t mean there are more bears. It just means the park is packed with tourists, and the bears “can’t hardly scratch his hind end” without getting on camera.

Mark HeinzJune 23, 2024

Avid angler and part-time Wyoming resident Tommy Martinez found these orange shotgun targets, commonly called clay pigeons, littering the Buffalo Fork River near a campground on Thursday.

Sportsman Outraged Over Littering Grand Teton River With Shotgun Targets

An angler on the Buffalo Fork River near Grand Teton National Park on Thursday was outraged to find someone had used the area for shotgun target practice, and left dozens of bright orange clay pigeons in the river. Plus, he said they were a terrible shot.

Mark HeinzJune 21, 2024

Diesel the donkey ran away from his home five years ago and turned up again this spring when a hunter captured this video of him living with a herd of elk in California. Despite numerous online rumors, Diesel isn't from Wyoming and was never in the Cowboy State.

Donkey Named Diesel Living With California Elk Herd Was Never In Wyoming

It’s true that a donkey that’s gone viral named Diesel ran away from home to live with a wild elk herd in California. What’s not true despite numerous social media reports is that Diesel’s from Wyoming.

Mark HeinzJune 21, 2024

This image from video shows a large grizzly bear chasing a bull moose through a campground just north of the Wyoming-Montana border.

Moose Lucky Grizzly Chasing Him Near Wyoming State Line Wasn't Really Trying

A former Yellowstone bear biologist who caught video of a grizzly chasing a moose near the Wyoming state line said the moose was lucky the bear opted for a vegetarian option. Grizzlies usually, but not always, have an advantage over moose in a one-on-one fight.

Mark HeinzJune 20, 2024

Northeast Wyoming resident Owen Miller is an avid hunter and hunting guide. He bagged this huge bull on an over-the-counter elk tag in Colorado in 2020. However, Colorado is discontinuing some elk tags for non-residents.

Colorado Eliminates Over-The-Counter Archery Elk Tags For Non-Residents

Trying to lessen the numbers of hunters that flood Colorado every fall, the state has discontinued over-the-counter archery elk tags for non-residents. Colorado was known as the best last option for elk hunters who failed to draw elk tags anywhere else.

Mark HeinzJune 19, 2024

This pickup getting stuck in a remote part of Carbon County during this past fall’s elk hunting season set off a chain of events that led to a Rawlins man getting nailed for poaching.

Wyoming Elk Poacher Nailed After Truck Gets Stuck And He Brags On Social Media

A Rawlins man might have thought he would get away with poaching a bull elk, until his truck got stuck. Then he posted photos of the elk and bragged about it on social media.

Mark HeinzJune 18, 2024

Don Gittleson prepares to tend to a cow that was attacked by a wolf this past winter on this ranch in North Park, Colorado, near the Wyoming state line.

Family Says Its Ranch Near Wyoming State Line A ‘Grocery Store’ For Wolves

Many of the 24 cattle killed by wolves in Colorado since December have been on the Gittleson ranch just a few miles from the Wyoming state line. Since reintroduction of wolves in Colorado, the ranch has become a “grocery store” for them.

Mark HeinzJune 18, 2024

Park County Search And Rescue personnel were assisted by civilian kayakers on Sunday, rescuing a West Texas man who was trapped in this eddy and cave on the Shoshone River after the raft his was riding in with two others flipped. He found refuge in this little cave to the right.

Texas Man Rescued After Trying Most Dangerous Rapid In River On "Walmart Raft"

A Texas man was rescued on Sunday after getting stranded on the Shoshone River. An expert kayaker from Cody, who rescued the man, said the Texan tried to "run the biggest rapid on the river during the highest water in a Walmart raft."

Mark HeinzJune 17, 2024

Southeast Wyoming Fishing Off To Slow Start But Will Change Soon

To put it bluntly, the fishing “sucks right now,” in southeast Wyoming, says Josh McPeak, a fishing guide with Four Seasons Anglers in Laramie. But the turnaround, he says, could come as early as this week.

Mark HeinzJune 16, 2024

A group of coyote-wolf hybrids, commonly called coywolves, at the Wildlife Science Center in Forest Lake Minnesota.

There Are Plenty Of Coyotes And Wolves In Wyoming, So Why No Coywolves?

in the eastern United States, coyotes people encounter are likely to be coywolves, or coyote-wolf crossbreeds. But in Wyoming, wolves and coyotes tend to avoid each other and coywolves have not been documented.

Mark HeinzJune 16, 2024

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

Bighorn sheep in Wyoming's Devils Canyon.

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