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.
Latest from Mark Heinz
When A Bear Wants To Eat You: Outdoorsman Has Terrifying Predatory Encounter
Outdoorsman Ryan Lutes had a predatory encounter with a female brown bear earlier this summer. He told Cowboy State Daily that he credits confidence and bold action for coming out alive. "I knew I had to plant my ass, stand firm and not appear weak," he said.
Mark HeinzAugust 15, 2026
Spike In Roadkill: Drought Has Wildlife Searching For Food And Water Near Roads
Wyoming’s persistent hot, dry weather could be to blame for a spike in roadkill as wildlife is being drawn to greenery and water alongside highways. One Teton County resident says she’s seen many bears not far from where Grizzly 399 was struck and killed.
Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2026
Under Severe Drought Conditions, Wyoming’s Powder River Has Completely Stopped Flowing
The Powder River in Sheridan County has completely stopped flowing for nearly a month due to severe drought conditions and irrigation. During a typical year, the Powder at Arvada is flowing at 135 cubic feet per second, now it's at zero cubic feet per second.
Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2026
Wolf-Grizzly Drama Over Carcass Shows Yellowstone Visitors How Predators Coexist
A grizzly and wolf initially had a tense standoff over a bison carcass in Yellowstone, but opted to resolve it peacefully. The photographer who filmed the interaction said they're smarter than people think. "They know that conflict is costly," she said.
Mark HeinzAugust 13, 2026
BLM Says Red Desert Wild-Horse Herd Must Be Cut By 1,800 To Prevent Starvation
The Bureau of Land Management plans to round up about 1,800 mustangs in the Red Desert Complex of central Wyoming this fall, claiming that overpopulated horses are at risk for starvation. “That’s baloney," says wild-horse advocate Carol Walker.
Mark HeinzAugust 13, 2026
Lower Temps, Rain Help Firefighters Contain 30% Of 16,500-Acre Fire Near Lander
Thanks to lower temperatures and light rain Wednesday, the Weiser Knoll fire near Lander was 30% contained and another blaze at Fort Washakie was fully contained. The Weiser Knoll Fire in grass, sagebrush and juniper remained at 16,500 acres.
Mark HeinzAugust 12, 2026
Hooray! Ranch Hand Rescues Squealing Elk Calf Entangled In Barbed Wire
An elk calf got entangled in barbed wire over the weekend at a ranch in southern Montana but thankfully a ranch hand from Buffalo, Wyoming, heard it squealing and rescued it. “We care about all of the wildlife living out here,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
Mark HeinzAugust 12, 2026
Black Bear Attacks Woman Hiking With Dogs Near Jackson, Hiking Trail Closed
A woman was hospitalized Monday after a presumed black bear attacked her while hiking with her dogs near Teton Pass. Game and Fish officials, who closed the trail, described the incident as a "defensive encounter."
Mark HeinzAugust 11, 2026
UPDATE: Fire Near Lander At 16,530 Acres And 0% Contained, Prompts Evacuations
The Weiser Knoll fire near Lander, started by an overheated wheel bearing on Highway 28 on Sunday, exploded to Wyoming's largest at 16,530 acres and was 0% contained late Tuesday. “Everybody was waiting for their places to go up,” a local rancher said.
Mark HeinzAugust 11, 2026
Angi Bruce's Resignation As Game and Fish Director Catches Sportsmen By Surprise
Wyoming sportsmen said the sudden resignation of Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce came as a surprise despite some misgivings about the department's direction. Bruce, the department's first female director, now has a job in the governor's office.
Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2026
Scarce Food Sources Could Put Bears In A Bind As They Seek Protein For Hibernation
Grizzlies are stuffing themselves with moths at higher elevations, but once the moths are gone food supplies could get scarce as bears move to lower elevations seeking protein for hibernation, one ecologist says. A poor chokecherry crop is one concern.
Mark HeinzAugust 10, 2026
Critics Say Proposed Seminoe Power Project Won’t Have Enough Water
Seminoe Reservoir in Carbon County is so low a proposed pumped-water storage project wouldn’t work and could devastate Wyoming's famous Miracle Mile trout fishery, critics say. Scientists say the drought won't end any time soon.
Mark HeinzAugust 09, 2026
Knife Rights Advocates Say Second Amendment Should Apply To Blades, Too
Knife rights advocates say knives should be protected like guns as the Second Amendment doesn't say ‘firearms,' it says ‘arms’, says UW professor George Mocsary. Wyoming adults with clean records can carry almost every type of knife, a right not all states enjoy.
Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2026
Biologists Concerned Vampire Bats Could Transmit Chronic Wasting Disease To Cattle, Humans
As vampire bats move north from Mexico and chronic wasting disease moves south from the Northern Rockies, a disease expert worries that the bats could start carrying the disease and transmitting them to cattle or even humans.
Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2026
Game And Fish Kills Black Bear That Drove Women From Bighorns Camp, Shredded Tent
Wyoming Game and Fish wardens have killed a black bear that drove two women from their camp and shredded their tent in the Bighorn Mountains early last month. The bear likely was food-conditioned and continued to enter other camps through July.
Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2026
Conservationists To Sue Forest Service To Stop Cattle Grazing In Gros Ventre Range
Conservationists plan to sue the Forest Service to stop grazing on a part of Wyoming’s remote Gros Ventre Range. They say it will lead to grizzlies killing cattle and, in turn, wildlife agents killing the bears. A cattleman from the area disagrees.
Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2026
Legislators Warned That States Must Talk Or Face Lawsuits Over Colorado River
The Wyoming state engineer told state legislators Thursday that if the seven Colorado River Basin states can’t come to terms over a dwindling water supply, lawsuits or federal intervention could result. "I don't think it's the best," he said.
Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2026
Bison Rancher: Yellowstone Bull With Gigantic Abscess Will Be OK Once It Gushes
A massive abscess on a Yellowstone bull bison’s right rear quarter likely is the result of an infected wound from a rut battle. When it ruptures, “a 5-gallon bucketful of stuff” will gush out, a top bison rancher says, adding the bison should be fine.
Mark HeinzAugust 06, 2026
Hageman Says Wolf Delisting Bill Stalled By ‘Elitist East Coast Politicians’
A bill to delist wolves across the Lower 48 co-sponsored by Wyoming U.S. Sens. Barrasso and Lummis was blocked by a New Jersey Democrat. Rep. Hageman on Wednesday blasted "elitist East Coast politicians' continued objections to common-sense proposals.”
Mark HeinzAugust 05, 2026
Feds Continue With Plan To Save Spotted Owls By Killing Nearly 500,000 Other Owls
A federal campaign to kill nearly a half-million barred owls in the Pacific Northwest to save threatened spotted owls continues, even though recent lifting of protections for spotted owl habitat defeats the entire purpose, an animal welfare advocate says.
Mark HeinzAugust 05, 2026
Sublette Residents Say Mountain Bike Trails Would Harm Famed Mule Deer Migration
Sublette County residents came out mostly against proposed mountain biking trails near Pinedale on Tuesday, telling commissioners they worry about harming a vital migration corridor for some 20,000 mule deer. Proponents say the trails won't overlap.
Mark HeinzAugust 04, 2026