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

Gun ownership is rising among women in Wyoming, who are also increasingly taking tactical shooting classes to learn self-protection.

More Wyoming Women Have Guns — And Are Trained How To Use Them

In Wyoming, and across the country, more women are buying guns and taking courses to learn how to shoot them. Jason Crotteau, who runs the Riverton-based Wyoming Tactical shooters’ training company, says self-protection is the reason why.

Mark HeinzMay 17, 2025

File Photos: Witnesses in Montana claim they saw a National Guard chopper illegally land on private property, and the crew grabbing shed elk antlers. If true, the guardsmen responsible will be punished, a general said.

Montana National Guard Accused Of Illegally Using Black Hawk To Snag Elk Antlers

Witnesses in Montana claim they saw a National Guard chopper illegally land on private property, and the crew grabbing shed elk antlers. If true, the guardsmen responsible will be punished, a general said.

Mark HeinzMay 14, 2025

Demonstrating a suppressor attached to a Traditions 350 Legend.

Bills Lifting Ban On So-Called Silencers, Short-Barreled Rifles Stall In U.S. House

Gun rights advocates say a Congressional committee stalled bills to lift bans on suppressors and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. Wyoming’s delegates say they support the bills.

Mark HeinzMay 14, 2025

Wildlife photographer Jeff Plumb observed and photographed Grizzly 1063 with her three yearling cubs less than a week before two of the cubs were found dead, aparantly victims of a boar grizzly.

Male Bear Kills, Cannibalizes 2 Of Grizzly 1063’s 3 Yearling Cubs In Grand Teton

Fans of a prominent female grizzly in Grand Teton National Park were saddened to learn Wednesday that two of her three yearling cubs were apparently killed and cannibalized by a male bear. While brutal, it’s what male bears do.

Mark HeinzMay 14, 2025

Spring turkey hunting in Wyoming has been excellent this year. The state’s wild turkey population is thriving, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Population Boom Means There Are Tons Of Turkeys For Wyoming Hunters

There’s never been a better time to take up turkey hunting in Wyoming. A population boom means there are tons of wild turkeys around for the spring season.

Mark HeinzMay 13, 2025

Short $16M In Federal Money In Limbo, Wildlife Crossing Near Dubois On Hold

Roughly $16 million in federal funding is on hold for a $28 million wildlife crossing along U.S. Highway 26 near Dubois. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and others are determined to push the project forward anyway.

Mark HeinzMay 13, 2025

Snow King Mountain near Jackson has become a hot spot for concerts, drawing big-name artists playing alternative rock, electronic music, country, blues and more.

Wyoming Growing Into A Music Concert Hot Spot — And Not Just For Country

Wyoming is no longer an unknown backwater when it comes to live music. Big name artists such as Wilco, Primus and Luke Grimes are booking shows here for 2025, while other big names to discover Wyoming include Jelly Roll, Ice Cube, Ludcris and T-Pain.

Mark HeinzMay 13, 2025

A visitor to Yellowstone National Park gets up close and personal to a bison to get a selfie with it in May 2023.

Ornery Bison Don't Just Gore People, They Break Bones And Crush Organs

Most bison “goring” attacks involve massive blunt force trauma, not people getting skewered by horns in the torso. An emergency room doctor says people who get too close can suffer broken bones, crushed organs and also can take a horn to the butt.

Mark HeinzMay 12, 2025

Drones have been used to chase wolves away from cattle in Oregon. There’s hope the tactic might work in Wyoming and Colorado.

Latest Tactic To Keep Wolves Away From Livestock: Dive-Bomb Them With Drones

Dive-bombing wolves with drones equipped with lights and speakers have scared them away from cattle in Oregon and a wolf conservation advocate hopes to work with ranchers in Colorado and Wyoming to see if drones have a similar effect here.

Mark HeinzMay 11, 2025

Bambi is a 250-pound Nubian goat who lives at the Home On The Range Animal Haven south of Laramie. An old back injury makes difficult for him to walk, so it’s hoped somebody can design a leg brace for him.

Bambi, A Disabled 250-Pound Goat That Lives South Of Laramie, Needs A Leg Brace

Bambi, a 250-pound Nubian goat, struggles to get around because of a back injury he suffered in a fight with a ram. The folks at a farm animal sanctuary near Laramie think he can walk again with a leg brace but crafting one has been difficult. So they're asking the public for help.

Mark HeinzMay 10, 2025

It’s hoped that a program called Access Granted can provide hunters more access to prime areas, while also respecting landowners’ rights.

Casper-Based Company Wants To End Feuding Between Hunters, Landowners

Tensions between landowners and hunters seeking access to game herds are nothing new, even leading to national attention for Wyoming’s high-profile “corner-crossing” case. A Casper-based company thinks it’s found the solution.

Mark HeinzMay 09, 2025

A helicopter drops old Christmas trees into Canyon Ferry Lake, a reservoir on the Missouri River near Helena, Montana. The trees provide spawning habitat for yellow perch and shelter for their hatchlings.

Helicopter Drops Christmas Trees Into Popular Montana Lake To Save Yellow Perch

Walleyes were gobbling up too many yellow perch in Montana’s Canyon Ferry Lake. So, state officials started dropping old Christmas trees into water to provide spawning habitat and shelter for perch hatchlings.

Mark HeinzMay 08, 2025

Other Authors

Yellowstone Bison Goring The Latest In A Bad Week For Floridians Vs. Wildlife

A Florida man who was gored by a bison in Yellowstone on Wednesday was lucky. Another Floridian was killed by a bear this week, and yet another by an alligator.

Mark HeinzMay 08, 2025

One of 10 wolves reintroduced to northern Colorado in December 2023.

Wandering Colorado Wolf Transplanted From Canada Logs 1,230 Miles Around State

Colorado’s reintroduced wolves have been making tracks all over the state, including one female that’s logged more than 1,200 miles. At least two are also known to have ranged into Wyoming.

Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

A 47-year-old man from Florida was gored when he approached too close to a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Sunday. The National Park Service reported the goring Wednesday, confirming it’s the first of the season after two gorings in 2024.

Florida Man Is First Bison Goring Of The Season At Yellowstone National Park

A 47-year-old man from Florida was gored when he got too close to a bison at Yellowstone National Park on Sunday. The National Park Service reported the goring Wednesday, confirming it’s the first of the season after two gorings in 2024.

Clair McFarland & Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

Grizzly 399 Offspring Hit And Killed By Car In Grand Teton

Grizzly 1058, a male from Grizzly 399’s famed 2020 litter of quadruplets, was confirmed dead on Tuesday, after apparently being hit by a vehicle in Grand Teton National Park.

Mark HeinzMay 07, 2025

ATF agent demonstrates firing a Glock pistol with a switch attached to make it full-auto in this video posted by WTHR in Indianapolis, Indiana.

States Move To Ban Glocks Over Worries They Can Be Made Fully Automatic

There’s already a ban on “Glock switches,” devices that can make the semiautomatic handgun fully automatic. Now some states are trying to also ban Glock pistols themselves.

Mark HeinzMay 05, 2025

This adorable little critter photographed Sunday near Baggs is a ringtail. A distant relative of raccoons, ringtails are usually associated with the desert Southwest and are a rare sight in Wyoming.

Ringtail, Rare In Wyoming, Spotted Near Baggs — And Game And Fish Wants It

Ringtails, a distant cousin of raccoons, are a rare sight in Wyoming. A Baggs-area family spotted and photographed one, and Game and Fish hope to trap and release it somewhere safe from dogs.

Mark HeinzMay 05, 2025

9-year-old Mikey Jonnassen of Casper is pictured here with his mom Shantae Smith, stepdad Roy Smith and younger sisters Kinsley and Ella Jonnassen. The family hopes to find a service dog to help Mikey with his medical needs.

After Surviving A Brain Tumor, Casper Boy Can’t Wait To Get A Service Dog

After Mikey Jonnassen was diagnosed with a brain tumor, doctors told his mom that he would spend the rest of his life bedridden. But he wasn’t having any of that. Now he’s walking, talking and looking forward to a service dog.

Mark HeinzMay 04, 2025

Proposal To Change Landowner Hunting Tags Targets ‘Hunting Club’ Market

A proposal to more than double the amount of land needed to qualify for landowner hunting tags would favor Wyomingites over out-of-staters, supporters say.

Mark HeinzMay 02, 2025

A screenshot from video taken at Oxbow Bend along the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park shows an audacious coyote creeping up and biting famous bear Grizzly 610 on her backside – because she was raiding the coyote’s food stash.

Daring Coyote Bites Grizzly 610 On The Butt — Without Getting Torn To Shreds

A coyote wasn’t about to let Grizzly 610, one of Wyoming’s most famous bears, get away with raiding its food along the Snake River on Monday. The coyote boldly snuck up and bit her on the butt — then avoided getting torn to shreds by the annoyed bear.

Mark HeinzMay 02, 2025