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.

Find Mark Heinz

Envelope

Latest from Mark Heinz

A gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park.

Two Charged In Illegal, Out-Of-Season Wolf Killing In Wyoming

Two men were charged in connection with an illegal wolf killing near Cody. The wolf was killed in a wolf hunting zone, but authorities allege it was shot without a license and out of season.

Mark HeinzFebruary 18, 2026

Committee OKs Bill To Keep Some Landowners From Claiming All Hunting Tags

Landowners won’t be able to claim all the tags in certain big game hunting areas under a bill a legislative committee forwarded to the Wyoming Senate floor on Tuesday.

Mark HeinzFebruary 17, 2026

The legendary Wyoming Range mule deer herd was starving and freezing during the brutal winter of 2022-2023. With this year’s mild winter, the deer are getting chunky.

Wyoming Mule Deer Fat And Happy Now But Biologists Say Snowfall Is Needed

Unlike the winter of 2022-2023, when mule deer were starving and dying by the thousands in Wyoming, this year the herd is looking quite healthy. “The deer are fat. They look awesome,” said avid hunter and deer conservationist Zachary Key of La Barge.

Mark HeinzFebruary 17, 2026

Boysen Reservoir in Fremont County, Wyoming, on Sunday Feb 15, 2026. Inset: Person in Darth Vader costume

Wild: Ice Cracking On Wyoming Reservoir Sounds Like A ‘Star Wars’ Laser Gunfight

About midmorning on Sunday, as the temperature crept above freezing, the ice sheet on Boysen Reservoir started making sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Scientists say the otherworldly noises come from ice cracking under warming temperatures.

Mark HeinzFebruary 16, 2026

Oregon Animal Rights Activists Push To Basically Ban Hunting, Fishing, Ranching

Animal rights activists in Oregon are pushing a ballot initiative that would effectively ban hunting, fishing and ranching. Should it pass, one Oregon resident said there aren’t enough prisons in the country to hold all the “lawbreakers” it would create.

Mark HeinzFebruary 15, 2026

The Preferred Service snow removal crew was busy in Cheyenne in March 2021, after the largest two-day snowfall on record. This year, they’ve had almost no work.

Dry Winter Leaves Wyoming Snow Removal Crews With No Work Or Doing Other Jobs

A lack of snowfall this winter has left local snow-removal businesses with almost no work and falling back on doing other jobs. “In a typical year, we’ve billed out 20-25 times for snow removal by now," one business owner said.

Mark HeinzFebruary 14, 2026

WolfQuest is a computer game in which people create their own wolf characters in a virtual Yellowstone National Park and try to find prey while avoiding fights with other wolves or being shot by hunters.

Hundreds Of Thousands Pretend They're Yellowstone Wolves In Online Game ‘WolfQuest’

Every day some 5,000 people worldwide are playing the online game WolfQuest. That's where you become a wolf in Yellowstone and do everything wolves do like kill elk, avoid being shot, and fight with other wolves.

Mark HeinzFebruary 14, 2026

Aaron Dorr, policy advisor for Wyoming Gun Owners, testifies about Senate File 101 at the state Capitol on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.

Chief Says Cop Killer’s Mom Would Have Escaped Justice Under Gun Rights Bill

Wyoming law officers say a gun rights bill headed for the House floor could let offenders slip through the cracks, including a cop killer's mom who would've escaped justice under the bill. Supporters say it will protect gun owners from federal overreach.

Mark HeinzFebruary 14, 2026

DoorDash Fires Sheridan Driver For Sending Sexually Explicit Texts

DoorDash has fired a driver after a Sheridan woman said she received sexually explicit text messages from him. Police have confirmed a complaint was filed and several other women have since said they also received inappropriate texts.

Mark HeinzFebruary 13, 2026

Attorney Ryan Semerad testifies during a House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee meeting listening to testimony about corner-crossing on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.

Camo-Clad Hunters Show Up In Force To Support Legalizing Wyoming Corner-Crossing

In a room packed with camouflage-clad hunters, a legislative committee voted Thursday to forward a bill that would officially make corner-crossing legal in Wyoming.

Mark HeinzFebruary 13, 2026

Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, who supports landowner tag sales, told Cowboy State Daily that the matter isn’t going away. FILE PHOTO

Senate Soundly Rejects Landowner Hunting Tag Sales As Supporters Vow To Try Again

A bill that would have allowed the sale of landowner hunting tags was soundly rejected for introduction to the Wyoming Senate. Hunters hailed it as a victory while Sen. Tim French, a vocal supporter, vowed to bring it back.

Mark HeinzFebruary 10, 2026

Roughly 2,000 mule deer will be gunned down on Catalina Island off the southern California Coast, if all goes as planned. Animal rights groups and hunters are united in opposing the massacre.

How To Unite Hunters & Animal Rights Groups? Announce Plans To Gun Down 2,000 Mule Deer

It's not often when animal rights groups and hunters agree on something. But in the case of the plan to gun down 2,000 mule deer on Catalina Island off the coast of southern California, it's happening. The two are teaming up to stop the massacre.

Mark HeinzFebruary 09, 2026

Other Authors

Mink might look cute in photos, but they are swift, clever and deadly predators, taking down critters bigger than themselves — like muskrats. They call Wyoming home, but are elusive and seldom seen.

Wyoming Wildlife: Mink Are Seldom Seen, Look Friendly, But Are Deadly Predators

Mink might look cute in photos, but they aren't very nice. They are fast, clever and deadly predators, taking down critters bigger than themselves — like muskrats. They call Wyoming home, but are elusive and seldom seen.

Mark HeinzFebruary 09, 2026

Idaho farmer Kent Sutton is giving away millions of pounds of potatoes to food banks and charities.

Idaho Farmer Giving Away Millions Of Pounds Of Potatoes To Food Banks & Charities

An Idaho farmer overwhelmed is giving away millions of pounds of potatoes to food banks and charities. “In about 20 minutes, I booked 10 semi loads of potatoes to go out over the next two weeks,” he said, including one stop in Wyoming's Star Valley.

Mark HeinzFebruary 08, 2026

During the winter, the Wyoming Game and Fish contracts with helicopter companies and pilots to capture and transport bighorn sheep and animals for research.

Blindfolded Wyoming Bighorns Ride Helicopters For Research

Until about March, folks might see blindfolded bighorn sheep or deer flying around, slung in harnesses under helicopters. They aren’t being nabbed by well-equipped poachers but are transported for population studies, disease testing and other research.

Mark HeinzFebruary 08, 2026

Proposed Bill Would Legalize Corner-Crossing On Wyoming Public Lands

Rep. Karlee Provenza, an outspoken advocate for public land access has introduced a bill legalizing corner-crossing in Wyoming. But Jim Magagna, of the Stock Growers Assoc. says it's too vague. “It almost isn’t a serious piece of legislation,” he said.

Mark HeinzFebruary 07, 2026

Concealed carry and University of Wyoming Union 2 6 26

Wyoming Bill Could Let 18-Year-Olds Carry Concealed Guns On UW Campus

Wyoming Legislature voted last year to allow concealed firearms on the University of Wyoming campus. Bills this year would allow 18-year-old students to carry, while those 21 and older could do so without permits.

Mark HeinzFebruary 07, 2026

Wyoming outdoorsman Guy Eastman says that hunting trophy-sized animals puts the hunters’ skills and abilities to the test.

Why The Outrage Over Trophy Hunting?

"Trophy hunting" has become a loaded term as the possible delisting of Wyoming’s grizzlies looms. Hunters say it represents the pinnacle of their sport. Critics say it’s all about ego.

Mark HeinzFebruary 06, 2026

Wildlife photographer Marcela Herdova loves the remote areas of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

Photographer Who Broke Leg In Remote Area Of Yellowstone, Is Grateful She Wasn't Alone

A wildlife photographer who broke her leg in a remote area of Yellowstone last Sunday said it taught her the importance of not venturing out alone, especially in areas without cellular service. Her companion was able to get her back to their car safely.

Mark HeinzFebruary 05, 2026

Wyoming Chef Says The Best Way To Cook Groundhog Is With A Pork Rub

Groundhogs don't have to be just ceremonial animals that allegedly predict when spring arrives. They can be good eating too. One of Wyoming’s top chefs says groundhog is best when cooked in a smoker with a pork rub.

Mark HeinzFebruary 04, 2026

Feds Pushing Grizzly Rules To December Could Be Step Toward Delisting

Delisting grizzlies could be imminent, hunting advocates say, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers regulations for bear hunting. They say pushing the deadline for the agency's decision on bears to December could be a step toward delisting.

Mark HeinzFebruary 03, 2026