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

A sign at the Jackson Hole Airport reminds travelers that bear spray is forbidden on commercial flights.

Will TSA Really Fine You $1,500 For Forgetting About Bear Spray In Luggage?

Regional airport managers say forgetting about bear spray when checking-in is a bad idea but they don't believe TSA will usually fine passengers for the mistake. "Usually they just get chastised for it," one manager said.

Mark HeinzOctober 28, 2026

An elk hunter found remote gravesites in the Bighorn Mountains. An amateur gravesite researcher says they belong to a soldier who accidentally shot himself in 1877 and a rail tie hack who died of a heart attack in 1922.

Researcher Baffled On How Two Men Are Buried In Same Spot In Remote Bighorns

After a hunter found two graves in the same spot from men who died 45 years apart, a gravesite researcher says she baffled by it. She said back then you were buried where you died. “It makes me wonder if there aren’t other gravesites up there,” she said.

Mark HeinzOctober 26, 2026

Hunters compete in the 2026 Deer Calling World Championships in Germany.

Germany’s Deer Calling Championships Is Like Bugling For Bigfoot In Wyoming

What European deer callers consider an art, Americans might find hysterical. Germany’s champion deer callers try to mimic their "roar" by cramming huge tubes into their mouths. One Wyoming hunter says it sounds like a Sasquatch having gastrointestinal problems.

Mark HeinzOctober 25, 2026

Arkansas rice farmer Todd Gibson was so fed up with beavers ruining his crops, he built a gun platform on his 2025 Honda Pioneer UTV to hunt them down. Now, he uses it mostly to hunt coyotes.

Farmer Builds UTV 'Battle Buggy' With Gun Platform To Blast Pests And Predators

An Arkansas farmer fed up with beavers eating his crop built a "Battle Buggy" with a gun platform that could be the envy of Wyoming pest hunters. “If you like driving around and shooting, I can’t imagine anything more fun,” said a prairie dog hunter.

Mark HeinzOctober 25, 2026

Pictured here is one of three bull elk that was shot and left to rot near Hyattville sometime between Oct. 3 and Oct. 10.

Hunters Livid At Poachers Leaving Three Bull Elk And A Collared Cow Moose To Rot

Wyoming hunters are sounding off after poachers shot three bull elk near Hyattville, along with a collared moose near Dubois in another incident, and left them to rot. “Grow up, have some ethics,” one livid hunter told Cowboy State Daily.

Mark HeinzOctober 23, 2026

A large grizzly bear is pictured here in the backcountry of Glacier National Park in Montana. 2026 has been a busy year for bear attacks in North America, involving both grizzlies and black bears.

Creator Of New Public Bear Attack Database Says 2026 Has Been ‘Unprecedented’

An outdoorsman with a network of wildlife-agency contacts has created the first public database for bear attacks. He said 2026 has been "unprecedented." He's documented 64 attacks so far this year that has resulted in injury or death in North America.

Mark HeinzOctober 23, 2026

Hunters and wildlife watchers use trail cameras, sometimes called game cameras, to document animal activity in their favorite places. But left unattended, they’re vulnerable to theft.

Hunters Returning To Trail Cams Only To Find Memory Cards And Cameras Missing

Park County outfitter Chip Burgess was infuriated and baffled to find the memory card in his trail cam — with a month full of photos — missing. Turns out, other hunters are having their memory cards and cameras stolen too.

Mark HeinzOctober 23, 2026

Deer that are killed by either of the closely related epizootic hemorrhagic diseases (EHD) or bluetongue viruses will have bloody foam coming from their nose or mouth and swollen faces and/or necks.

Deadly Bluetongue Disease Has Deer Foaming At The Mouth In Parts Of Wyoming

Deadly diseases called bluetongue and EHD that leave deer with bloody foam coming from their noses and mouths has hit parts of Wyoming this year, especially white-tails. The disease, which has hit North Dakota hard, can kill up to 90% of a herd.

Mark HeinzOctober 22, 2026

US Ballistic Laboratories in Cody (pictured) will be opening a second factory in Romania.

Cody-Based Artillery Shell Company To Open Second Factory In Romania

Cody-based US Ballistic Laboratories plans to open a second military-munitions site in Romania to churn out 155-millimeter high-explosive shells. With conflicts in Ukraine and Iran, “everybody’s scrambling” for ammunition, the company’s CEO said.

Mark HeinzOctober 21, 2026

Ken Wohl loved hunting in the Snowy Range mountains west of Laramie. He also loved his 1977 Chevy Scottsdale pickup he bought new.

Brothers Take Dad's 1977 Chevy Into Snowies To Spread His Ashes On Elk Hunt

After spreading their father’s ashes on an elk hunt in the Snowy Range, two Casper brothers used the 1977 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup their dad bought new in Medicine Bow to recover an elk. “It was like one last hunt with Pop,” one brother said.

Mark HeinzOctober 18, 2026

Black-footed ferrets are doing OK in the vast Shirely Basin but are apparently struggling near Meeteetse, where they were discovered in 1981.

45 Years After Black-Footed Ferrets Found Near Meeteetse, None Show Up For Count

Forty-five years after black-footed ferrets thought to be extinct were surprisingly rediscovered near Meeteetse, the population is struggling again. None were spotted during the latest population survey there, which wrapped up last month.

Mark HeinzOctober 17, 2026

Nathan Hunter says he practically stepped on this big mule deer buck before the buck jumped up, giving him a shot opportunity.

'Being Too Lazy' Pays Off For Hunter Who Bags Buck When It Jumps Out At Him

A hunter said laziness turned to good fortune when a big mule deer buck hunkered down in hiding jumped out of brush when he was just a few feet away. Biologists say big bucks learn that the "dirty trick" of hiding is safer during hunting season.

Mark HeinzOctober 15, 2026

Other Authors

BLM Plans To Round Up 1,800 Mustangs In Red Desert For Adoption And Re-Sale

Wild-horse advocates say they'll be watching beginning Thursday when the BLM begins rounding up 1,800 mustangs from the Red Desert Complex for adoption and re-sale. The agency says it must reduce the herd to "sustainable levels" of 480-720 horses.

Mark HeinzOctober 14, 2026

Matthew Stowe said this elk he shot south of Chugwater seemed perfectly healthy, but it was suffering from a rare condition called “nutmeg liver.”

Hunter Kills Elk, Finds Out It Has Rare ‘Nutmeg Liver,’ Decides To Eat Meat Anyway

A Cheyenne hunter was surprised by the bizarre speckles he found on his elk’s liver, a rare condition known in the hunting community as “nutmeg liver,” which is caused by a bad heart. He decided to eat the meat anyway, which a biologist says is OK.

Mark HeinzOctober 13, 2026

Marty Dupertuis Jr. bagged a huge bull elk while hunting with his dad in the South Fork near Cody.

'It Was Amazing': Autistic Teen Bags Big Bull Elk On Father-Son Hunting Trip

When autistic teen Marty Dupertuis Jr. killed a big bull elk last week, nobody was prouder than his parents, Maria and Marty Dupertuis. The Park County couple has discovered hunting is a great way to bond with their son and teach him life skills.

Mark HeinzOctober 12, 2026

Charlie and Jo Stickney run C&J’s Bug Barn game skull cleaning business in Thermopolis.

Flesh-Eating Beetles Finish The 'Gross' Job Of Cleaning Skull Mounts For Hunters

Cleaning big-game skulls to make European mount trophies isn’t for the squeamish. Charlie Stikney of Thermopolis admits there's a "grossness" to blasting brains with compressed air, but his beetles take over from there — and hunters love the results.

Mark HeinzOctober 10, 2026

Medicine Bow National Forest Jack Creek 10 9 26

Juvenile Hunting Camp Thieves Busted After 'Several Years' Spree In Southern Wyoming

Carbon County deputies busted a ring of "juvenile" hunting camp thieves after a flurry of thefts between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1. The sheriff reported Friday that the ring had been operating for "several years." A local hunter recommends using game cameras.

Mark HeinzOctober 09, 2026

Grizzly bears scatter like gigantic mice at the approach of a combine in a Montana cornfield, in a video reportedly taken Thursday near the tiny Rocky Mountain Front community of Augusta.

Wow! Grizzlies in Montana Cornfield Scatter Like Mice As Rancher's Combine Nears

A farmer shot a wild video Thursday showing at least seven grizzlies scrambling like gigantic mice at the approach of his combine in a Montana cornfield near the community of Augusta. Locals say this is common for the area known as a hotbed for grizzlies.

Mark HeinzOctober 09, 2026

Bridget Gallagher, a mother of nine from Clark, shot this mountain lion late Tuesday near her family’s property.

Clark Mother Of Nine Shoots Mountain Lion Hanging Around Family's Corn Maze

A mother of nine in Clark, Wyoming, took matters into her own hands when a mountain lion was seen lurking around the family's popular corn maze and pumpkin patch. "I had never even really seen a mountain lion in person,” Bridget Gallagher said.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2026

Hunter Vance McGahey said he was worried about his beloved pack goat overheating in scorching weather during a recent hunting trip in the Wind River mountains.

Scorching Heat, Even At High Altitudes, Has Hunters Passing On Shots At Elk, Deer

Even at high elevations, it's been so hot this season that Wyoming hunters aren't shooting elk because they're worried the meat will spoil. “I had to stop about every three-quarters of a mile and let them cool off," one hunter said about his pack goats.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2026

"We're A Winchester Family": Gillette Couple's Huge Stash Of Pre-64 Winchester Rifles

Patience and Jarod Blocker are rare for their age. The Gillette couple has a passion for classic pre-64 Winchester Model 70 rifles. Planning for next year's Winchester Arms Collectors Association show in Cody, Patience says, "It's going to be bad-ass."

Mark HeinzOctober 07, 2026