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

The Mollie’s Pack is Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack and includes the famous Wolf 1090F. The pack is safe, for now, after returning to Yellowstone National Park just before the start of Wyoming's hunting season Tuesday.

Just As Wyoming Wolf Season Begins, Famous Mollie's Pack Returns To Yellowstone

The famous Mollie’s wolf pack is safe, for now, after returning to Yellowstone National Park just before the start of Wyoming's hunting season Tuesday. But hunters are hopeful they will stray back out of the park before hunting season closes in December.

Mark HeinzSeptember 15, 2026

Snow, one of Yellowstone’s favorite grizzlies, appears to have been piling on the pounds. One of her fans described her as “bootylicous.”

Yellowstone's Famous Grizzly Snow Gets A Motorcade Escort On Dark Highway

Fans of the famous Yellowstone grizzly Snow gave her a motorcade escort Sunday to save her from being hit on a highway on the park's east side. Snow ambled behind and in front of flashing hazard lights for roughly a mile before heading into the woods.

Mark HeinzSeptember 15, 2026

Ron Micheli, a Fort Bridger area rancher and former Wyoming legislator, said he and other ranchers along Wyoming’s Upper Green River are dependent upon snowpack to fill the river. And this year’s snowpack was one of the worst on record.

Wyoming, Upper Basin States: Water Taken From Flaming Gorge Should Be Replaced

Water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir kept Lake Powell from hitting "dead pool" this year, so Wyoming and the Upper Basin States limping through severe drought want it replaced. Wyoming rancher Ron Micheli said, 'If we don't have snow, we don't have water."

Mark HeinzSeptember 14, 2026

Former Commissioner: Game and Fish Caused Its Own Financial Woes by Overspending

Former Game and Fish commissioner Mike Schmid said the organization's looming financial crisis could be because of unnecessary spending and he's skeptical of a trust fund. “I think there was some self-inflicted pain there,” Schmid said.

Mark HeinzSeptember 14, 2026

His 2018 Chevy Camaro ZL 1 is Nick Young’s prize possession. When on the road and he can't put it under a roof, he protects it from hail damage with an inflatable car cocoon.

To Escape Hail Damage, People Wrap Their Cars In Gigantic Inflatable Cocoons

Some drivers who want protection from hail damage for cars are turning to inflatable cocoons — gigantic shells of heavy-duty fabric that inflate to surround a vehicle. Not everyone is sold on them, with one skeptic calling the cocoon “a metallic turd.”

Mark HeinzSeptember 13, 2026

Left, Boo the bull elk is shown here in his prime, circa 2016, sporting an impressive set of antlers. Right, now nearly age 18, he no longer grows antlers and has lived several years longer than bull elk typically survive in the wild.

Popular Elk Named Boo At Bear River State Park Is So Old He Stopped Growing Antlers

Boo, a popular bull elk at Bear River State Park near Evanston, Wyoming, has grown so old at age 18 that he no longer grows antlers. Bull elk in the wild rarely live past 12 and almost never long enough to hit the antlerless stage.

Mark HeinzSeptember 13, 2026

Cam Sholly, pictured here in front of Elk Peak in Yellowstone National Park, is ending his nearly 8-year run as the park’s superintendent.

Cam Sholly Leaving As Yellowstone National Park Superintendent After 8-Year Run

Cam Sholly is stepping down as Yellowstone National Park superintendent after eight years that included dealing with COVID-19, massive flooding and record crowds. He said his departure has nothing to do with a rumored conflict with the administration.

Mark HeinzSeptember 11, 2026

Lawmakers: Game And Fish Commission Meeting Not Place To Ask About Departed Director

Legislators and Wyoming Game and Fish Department top brass said Thursday that meetings to discuss the agency's funding weren't the place to bring up Angi Bruce's departure as director. Some cited "personnel matters" for not talking publicly about Bruce.

Mark HeinzSeptember 11, 2026

Page and Keith Mamot found this 2-year-old black bear in their second home near Driggs, Idaho. The bear was shot and killed soon after by sheriff’s deputies under a zero-tolerance policy related to occupied structures.

Casper Couple Saddened By Bear Killed For Entering Their Second Home In Idaho

A Casper couple said they’re saddened because a black bear that broke into their second home near Driggs, Idaho, was killed under a zero-tolerance policy for bears that enter occupied structures. “He wasn’t mean or aggressive,” Page Mamot said.

Mark HeinzSeptember 10, 2026

Wildlife Groups Applaud Trust Fund As Way To Save Game and Fish From Budget Crisis

With Wyoming Game and Fish facing what its interim director calls a “dire” looming budget shortfall, wildlife groups say a trust fund proposed by a legislative committee has a "juggernaut of support." "God, I hope we dream big," one advocate said.

Mark HeinzSeptember 10, 2026

Wyoming Game and Fish Game and Fish Interim Director Eric Wiltanger, Game and Fish CFO Meredith Wood, and Game and Fish Commissioner Rusty Bell speak with legislators Wednesday in Jackson.

Game And Fish Facing ‘Dire’ Financial Trouble, Interim Director Tells Lawmakers

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department budget could hit crisis level within the next few years due to inflation and a decline in deer tags, the agency’s interim director told lawmakers Wednesday. “We’re not dire right now, but we’re going to be,” he said.

Mark HeinzSeptember 10, 2026

A tranquilized female black bear, about 19 to 20 months old, is carried by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers Stephanie Taylor and Ty Smith after being captured in Durango on Tuesday.

Colorado Has Killed Nearly 300 Black Bears This Year, Quadruple Last Year's Amount

Colorado wildlife officials have killed nearly 300 black bears this year, almost four times as many as a year ago. “I think what people aren’t realizing is that trash is the primary reason for bears being in towns,” said one official.

Mark HeinzSeptember 08, 2026

Other Authors

Nic Buxman of Afton had set up his blind for pronghorn hunting next to a water hole in Natrona County. When he returned from scouting, it was gone.

Wyoming Outdoorsman Baffled By Theft Of Blind While He Was Pronghorn Hunting

An Afton hunter was surprised to return to the spot where he set up a pronghorn blind only to find someone had stolen it. He said the incident shook him because it's such an egregious violation of the time-honored unwritten hunters’ code of conduct.

Mark HeinzSeptember 06, 2026

Ryan Hansen got this mule deer buck during a 2025 hunt in southwest Wyoming. Hunters might have to work hard for bucks this year, according to Game and Fish.

Hunting Wyoming: With Lower Mule Deer Populations, Monster Bucks Still Out There

Mule deer populations are “languishing” in parts of Wyoming, but with archery season underway, hunters say record trophy bucks are still out there. After an unusually mild 2025-2026 winter, many deer stayed fat and growing larger antler racks.

Mark HeinzSeptember 05, 2026

Bison graze on federal land near Grand Teton in northwest Wyoming.

Judge Halts BLM Directive To Removal Bison From Federal Grazing Allotments

A federal judge on Friday blocked a BLM directive to remove bison from Montana federal grazing allotments because they're being managed as wildlife, not livestock, in a move that a Wyoming bison rancher said is good news across the West.

Mark HeinzSeptember 04, 2026

This mule deer buck, reported to be somewhere in Bondurant, could set the new record for Wyoming’s biggest buck ever.

Monster Mule Deer Could Obliterate Record For Wyoming’s Biggest Buck Ever

Wyoming hunters are buzzing over photos and videos of a monster mule deer buck, thought to be near Bondurant. Outdoorsman say it could shatter the record for Wyoming’s biggest buck. “He’s knocking on the door of 300 inches,” one hunter said of its rack.

Mark HeinzSeptember 04, 2026

A white-collared adult grizzly has been spotted in the South Fork area near Cody recently.

Rare Adult White-Collar Grizzly Bear Seen Roaming In The South Fork Near Cody

A large adult grizzly bear with a white collar "tuxedo" was spotted on a ranch in the South Fork area outside of Cody. Cubs commonly have white fur around the neck and upper chest, but the marking is exceedingly rare in adult grizzlies.

Mark HeinzSeptember 04, 2026

A thief stole a suitcase and coffee from the back of Cameron Hersberger’s pickup in the wee hours Tuesday in the parking lot of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial on Interstate 80 between Laramie and Cheyenne. Hershberger, left, and Kelcy Deeds came to Wyoming to hunt bears.

As Hunters Dozed On I-80, Thief Swiped Suitcase And Coffee — But Left Pricey Gear

While two hunters snoozed in the cab of their pickup in the wee hours Tuesday along I-80, a thief swiped a suitcase and hand-roasted coffee from Belize from the bed — but left expensive hunting gear, a chainsaw, and camera inside a backpack.

Mark HeinzSeptember 03, 2026

Johnson County rancher Brett DeLaap says he's remorseful about trying to take an elk head from the four hunters who helicoptered into public lands adjacent to his.

Rancher Who Took Elk Head From Helicopter Hunters Says He Received Death Threats

A Johnson County rancher who tried to steal an elk head and antlers from hunters who helicoptered onto public land adjacent to his property last year says he was harassed and received death threats following the incident. He said he later apologized.

Mark HeinzSeptember 02, 2026

The Mollie’s Pack is Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack and includes the famous Wolf 1090F. The pack has strayed outside the park into a Wyoming wolf hunt area, and activists worry that 1090F will be shot this fall. They are requesting the pack be protected.

Big Piney Hunter Vows To Kill Matriarch Of Famed Mollie's Wolf Pack In Two Weeks

With two weeks to go before the wolf hunting season begins near Yellowstone, a Big Piney hunter is vowing to shoot 12-year-old Wolf 1090F from the famed Mollie's Wolf Pack if he sees her. In the meantime, wolf activists are trying their best to stop the hunt.

Mark HeinzSeptember 01, 2026

Jackson-area photographer Tom Mangelsen displays some of the sleeves he's made to cover President Trump's face on "America The Beautiful" passes.

Photographer Mangelsen Makes Wildlife Sleeves To Cover Trump's Face On Park Pass

Jackson wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen said he is sick of "Trump's narcissism" so he designed plastic sleeves with his wildlife images to cover the president's face on national park passes. The former BLM chief under Trump says it makes no sense.

Mark HeinzSeptember 01, 2026