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

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

The Colorado River near White Canyon, Utah, is viewed from 37,000 feet on Sep. 1, 2023. The Colorado, flowing from Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains through Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada and California, is heavily dependent on a winter snowfall.

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

This image from a trail camera shows a curious black bear right before it chomps on and knocks it around.

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

The northern "secret route" through the Tetons from Idaho to Jackson is still snowbound, but even when clear Reclamation Road is no shortcut and not recommended.

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

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A television in the Dave’s Guns shop in Larmie broadcasts President Joe Biden speaking at a gun control rally on Tuesday, the same day his son, Hunter Biden, was convicted for gun-related felonies.

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

This white bison calf was born on June 4, 2024 in Yellowstone National Park.

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

Commercial raft flipped after striking a snag in section of Snake River in Grand Teton National Park called “The Black Hole."

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

As the proliferation of fentanyl use surges, Wyoming Game and Fish personnel will soon also be carrying Narcan in the field in case they come into contact with the dangerous drug.

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

The Green River City Council voted to abolish the use of a gas chamber for animal euthanasia, leaving just one known location in the United States to continue using the controversial practice. Madhu Anderson (pictured), a longtime animal rights activist, called it a major victory.

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

Boysen Reservoir in Boysen State Park in Fremont County, Wyoming.

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

The ultra-long-distance migrating mule deer known as Deer 255 has died. Researchers tracked her across 3,300 miles since 2016. Here, she is shown with her twin fawns in a fall 2020 migration stopover in the Prospect Mountains of Sublette County.

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

These still images from a video of a Yellowstone grizzly with five cubs in tow. Wildlife officials say a five-cub litter is almost unheard of and the sow may have adopted some of those cubs.

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

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