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

Forest Service Won't Blow Up Dead Horses Due To Fire Danger

When a horse dies in the Wyoming backcountry, sometimes the best option is to blow it to pieces so it won’t attract grizzlies. In Wyoming right now, the U.S. Forest Service says the fire danger is too extreme to explode any dead backcountry horses.

Mark HeinzOctober 15, 2024

A woman is mobbed by racoons in this video taken late Sunday in the parking lot of the downtown Casper Best Western hotel. A hotel employee said racoons are a common sight, but an entire mob of them, such as this, is almost unheard of.

Gang Of Raccoons Mobs Woman In Casper Hotel Parking Lot

A woman was mobbed by raccoons in a Casper hotel parking lot Sunday. A hotel employee said raccoons frequent the area, but don’t usually gang up on people.

Mark HeinzOctober 15, 2024

Logan Wilson has been using hound dogs to hunt mountain lions in Wyoming for about three years.

Mountain Lions Gobble Up Pets And Four Goats In Story, Wyoming

Mountain lions are killing pets and livestock, including four goats, in and around the tiny Wyoming mountain town of Story. An area houndsman has stepped in to help chase the lions out.

Mark HeinzOctober 14, 2024

Three horses recently arrived at an animal rescue center near Cheyenne, including a mare and her foal, and another mare that is pregnant. The center’s director would like to know more about them and where they came from.

Group Of Horses May Have Been Left Homeless By Wyoming Wildfires

The owner of an animal rescue facility east of Cheyenne wants the previous owners of a mare, her foal, and another mare that's pregnant to know that the animals are safe and will be well-cared for. She wonders if they were forced to sell because of the wildfires.

Mark HeinzOctober 13, 2024

Jerry Nelson is a retired geology professor from Casper. He was once treed by a grizzly and credits the dogs he had with him at the time (not the dog pictured here) for helping to save the day.

Casper Man Says Climbing A Tree Saved Him From Grizzly Attack

A Casper man says he’s living proof that climbing a tree can help someone survive a grizzly attack because he did it in the 1970s when a bear charged him. He says his two black Labs played a big role too as they kept the mama grizzly and her two cubs busy while they waited it out.

Mark HeinzOctober 13, 2024

Park County voters line up to cast their ballots at the Cody Rec Center for the Aug. 20, 2024, Wyoming primary election.

Wyoming Hunters And Gun Owners Buck National Trend Of Not Voting

Nationwide apathy and distrust of government has caused a drop in hunters and gun owners registering to vote, reports Vote4America. But not in Wyoming, where hunters and gun owners buck that trend, likely because they feel supported by conservatives.

Mark HeinzOctober 11, 2024

A giant jackalope at the Douglas Railroad Museum.

The Hardest Part Of Making Jackalopes? Finding Enough Frozen Wyoming Jackrabbits

A Montana taxidermist who creates jackalope mounts says Wyoming jackrabbit carcasses are the best for them. But he’s having a hard time getting the 200-300 frozen carcasses a month he needs.

Mark HeinzOctober 11, 2024

Mike Parsley teaches dogs to recognize and avoid danger, like rattlesnakes. After hearing the story of a Wyoming dog caught in a beaver trap, he developed a course specifically for dogs to avoid them.

Wyoming Dog’s Death In Beaver Trap Inspires New Training Course

A Wyoming dog’s death in a beaver trap has inspired a first-of-its-kind training course for dogs. A trainer who already teaches dogs to avoid rattlesnakes and other dangers has added traps to the program.

Mark HeinzOctober 10, 2024

Grazer has stuffed herself with so much Alaska salmon that she's been crowned the 2014 Fat Bear Week champion. She also won in 2023.

Gloriously Plump Mama Crowned Queen Of ‘Fat Bear Week’

Alaska brown bears gorge themselves on salmon for the upcoming winter, oblivious they’re competing for a coveted title — Fat Bear Week champion. This year’s winner is Grazer, a bulked-out bruin that ate her way to back-to-back titles.

Mark HeinzOctober 09, 2024

Mob Of 100 Hungry Raccoons Drives Woman From Her Home

After 100 raccoons invaded a Washington woman’s property and drove her from her home, things could end badly for the raccoons. Wyoming wildlife experts say it’s a lesson on why you shouldn’t feed wild animals.

Mark HeinzOctober 09, 2024

This Teton County Search and Rescue helicopter is specially designed for operations in high, rugged mountains. This Teton County Search and Rescue helicopter is specially designed for operations in high, rugged mountains.

Wyoming Search And Rescue Team Recovers Body From Remote Colorado Peak

After Colorado teams twice tried to recover a man’s body from a remote mountain peak, Teton County Search and Rescue recovered his remains last week. The Wyoming team had the right equipment and training to help bring closure for his family.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2024

Climbing A Tree To Escape A Grizzly Not The Best Idea, Outdoorsmen Say

In yet another conflict between a hunter and grizzly bears, a Montana man tried climbing a tree to escape one Saturday. It didn’t work. Grizzlies can climb too, and the hunter had to shoot the bear.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2024

Other Authors

Black Bear With Cubs Killed After Breaking Into Colorado Home

A black bear with three cubs broke into a Colorado couple’s home, attacked and injured a man. Game agents killed all four bears.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2024

A white-tailed jackrabbit in the brush at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

Why Wyoming Jackrabbits Are “Predatory” Animals, On Par With Coyotes And Wolves

In Wyoming, Jackrabbits are classified as “predatory” animals, on par with coyotes and wolves in about 85% of the state. It’s not because they kill livestock, but because they can devastate crops.

Mark HeinzOctober 07, 2024

A large herd of elk runs away from the Elk Fire in northern Wyoming.

Huge Wildfire Is Hammering ‘Elk Factory’ In Bighorns, Ruins This Year’s Hunting

The massive 73,000-acre Elk Fire near Dayton, Wyoming, has all but ruined the elk and deer hunting season in some premier areas. It's hammering the "elk factory" that is the Bighorns.

Mark HeinzOctober 07, 2024

The rugged and remote Green Mountain area in the Laramie Range in Albany County is prized for its elk and bighorn sheep hunting. The proposed Britania Land Exchange would trade rugged Forest Service Land in Albany for two parchels farther to the north.

Forest Service Shouldn’t Trade ‘Hidden Oasis’ Of Prime Hunting Land, Critics Say

Critics of a pending land exchange say a remote and rugged piece of federal land in the Laramie Range mountains is a paradise for hunters, and the U.S. Forest Service should keep it. It’s prime elk and bighorn sheep habitat – accessible only by foot or horseback.

Mark HeinzOctober 05, 2024

Coy Monroe, 14, of Encampment has already filled his 2024 big game archery tags – with an antelope, elk and deer. He hopes to get a mountain lion this winter.

Wyoming 14-Year-Old Bowhunter Has Banner Season, Gets Elk, Deer And Antelope

As October begins, many hunters are just getting started filling their tags for Wyoming’s three premier big game species – antelope, deer and elk. Coy Monroe, a 14-year-old from Encampment, is way ahead of everyone -- having already bagged all three, with his bow.

Mark HeinzOctober 05, 2024

Montana Man, 81, Gets Prison For Scheme To Create Huge Hybrid Bighorn Sheep

An 81-year-old Montana man was sentenced to six months in prison this week for trying to create huge hybrid bighorn sheep using “Jurassic Park”-like techniques.

Mark HeinzOctober 04, 2024

In Brief: Grizzly Killed For Killing Dog, Raiding Camps In Beartooth Mountains

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department says it killed a young male grizzly that was raiding camps in the Beartooth Mountains, then killed a hiker’s dog.

Mark HeinzOctober 04, 2024

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says that the wolf in this photo a lone leftover pup from the Copper Creek Pack. But others say it’s a small adult female wolf, perhaps from Wyoming.

Uncollared Wolf Spotted In Colorado May Have Come From Wyoming

An uncollared wolf spotted in northern Colorado has sparked controversy. Wildife officials say it’s lone pup from a pack they trapped, but others think it’s an adult from Wyoming.

Mark HeinzOctober 03, 2024

Andrew Johnson said he killed this mountain lion with a shovel late Sept. 25, when the big cat came directly for him and his dog at their campsite in Colorado.

Man Who Killed Mountain Lion With A Shovel Says It Came At Him ‘Low And Fast’

A man who killed a mountain lion with a shovel told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday that he has no doubt the lion was trying to kill his dog. It came at them both “low and fast.”

Mark HeinzOctober 03, 2024