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 wrangler leads a mustang colt back to the herd during a Bureau of Land Management horse roundup July 26 in the remote Adobe Town area in south-Central Wyoming.

Lost, Young Wild Horse Tries To Join Up With Pronghorn Herd During Roundup

A young mustang briefly joined a band of pronghorn during a recent Wyoming horse roundup. Wild horse advocates say the colt was lost after being separated from his mother during a BLM roundup.

Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2025

Wildlife Agents Still Search For Whoever Poached A Park County Grizzly

Wildlife agents are still trying to track down whoever shot and killed a grizzly bear found dead in late May alongside a remote hiking trail in Park County. A bear expert says if the grizzly had been killed in self-defense, it would’ve been reported.

Mark HeinzAugust 01, 2025

Delisting Grizzlies Drives Support — And Opposition — For Nesvik’s Confirmation

Former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik is poised to be the new chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His stance in favor of taking grizzly bears off the endangered list drives much of his support — and opposition.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2025

Lummis, Hageman Introduce Bill Targeting Endless Endangered Species Listings

Wyoming Republicans Cynthia Lummis and Harriet Hageman want to rename the Endangered Species Act the “Endangered Species Recovery Act.” It’s a reminder that species shouldn’t be listed forever if they have recovered enough for delisting, they say.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2025

Money Could Be Coming For Wildlife Crossings, Including $30M Project Near Dubois

A planned $30 million wildlife crossing near Dubois — which could save hundreds of deer — is on hold because of a lack of federal money. Supporters of wildlife crossings say that money could start coming soon.

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2025

The Miracle Mile is actually an 8-mile stretch of the North Platte River near Casper, and one of Wyoming’s most prized trout fisheries.

Anglers Upset Over Plan To Ban Boats On Wyoming’s Famed Miracle Mile

A proposal to ban watercraft on the upper stretch of the North Platte River’s Miracle Mile section near Casper is drawing fire from some anglers who want to kill the rule before Gov. Mark Gordon signs off on it.

Mark HeinzJuly 29, 2025

Colorado is about halfway through building what officials are touting as the world’s largest wildlife overpass – a $15 million megastructure spanning six lanes of Interstate 25 south of Denver.

Colorado Halfway Done With World’s Largest Wildlife Overpass Spanning I-25

Colorado is about halfway through building what officials are touting as the world’s largest wildlife overpass. It’s a $15 million megastructure spanning six lanes of Interstate 25 south of Denver.

Mark HeinzJuly 29, 2025

Controversy has been stirring regarding a channel connecting Pine Creek and the New Fork River near Pinedale. Anglers have used the channel to move boats between the creek and river for years, but now some are alleging that a landowner there is blocking it off.

Floater And Fishing Access Fight Flares Over Channel Near Pinedale

Anglers and locals say a new landowner is blocking a historic channel connecting Pine Creek and the New Fork River near Pinedale, raising the temperature over public access and state law.

Mark HeinzJuly 28, 2025

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walk along the Wyoming Mormon Trail near Lander, reenacting the trek of their forbearers who passed through during the 1800s while journeying toward Salt Lake City.

After A Decade-Long Closure, 29 Miles of Mormon Trail Through Wyoming Reopens

After a decade-long hiatus, a 29-mile section of the Mormon Trail through Wyoming was recently fully reopened. It means members of the LDS church can make the historic two-day trek along the trail in period clothing pulling handcarts.

Mark HeinzJuly 27, 2025

Knight Lake, formerly Swastika Lake, in southern Wyoming.

18 Months After Name Change, Wyomingites Still Argue Over ‘Swastika Lake’

Nearly 18 months after Swastika Lake in Albany County was renamed Knight Lake, there’s still controversy and arguments over whether the change was justified or erased history.

Mark HeinzJuly 25, 2025

Rancher and outdoorsman Carl Strachan took this elk calf into his home near Livingston, Montana, trying to nurse it back to health after it survived an apparent mountain lion attack. The calf died, but Strachan said he doesn’t regret trying to help.

Rancher Tries To Save Elk Calf Mauled In Mountain Lion Attack

A Montana outdoorsman and rancher found an elk calf that had been critically hurt in a mountain lion attack and took it into his home. The calf died, but he doesn’t regret trying to save it. It also follows a trend of more mountain lion sightings.

Mark HeinzJuly 25, 2025

Rule Would Let Trappers Off Hook For Some Otter Killings, But They Can’t Keep Pelts

A proposed change in Wyoming Game and Fish regulations would let trappers off the hook for “unintentionally” killing otters. But they’d have to surrender the otters’ carcasses to Game and Fish.

Mark HeinzJuly 25, 2025

Other Authors

A barred owl, inset, with a group of spotted owls.

Congress Moves To Stop Killing Of 500,000 Barred Owls To Save Spotted Owls

Environmental groups have pulled together a bipartisan effort in Congress, which introduced a bill Wednesday to halt a Biden-era plan for a mass killing of 500,000 barred owls. Killing those owls would save endangered spotted owls, officials have said.

Mark HeinzJuly 24, 2025

Wyoming Senators Say Nesvik Vote — And Delisting Grizzlies — Has Waited Long Enough

Wyoming’s U.S. senators say the Senate should skip its scheduled August break if that’s what it takes to finally get Brian Nesvik in charge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That’s likely to lead to a long-awaited delisting of grizzly bears.

Mark HeinzJuly 24, 2025

A screenshot from a trail cam video showing a three new wolf pups in Colorado. Wildlife officials say there are now four wolf packs with pups in Colorado.

Not Everyone Thrilled With Colorado’s Wolf Boom — Four New Litters

Colorado’s wolf population is booming, with four packs known to have litters of pups born this spring. Not everyone is thrilled with that news, including ranchers who say wolves have killed numerous cattle.

Mark HeinzJuly 23, 2025

Mom and cubs: A mother black bear and her cubs stop by a bear bait site in Wyoming. Proponents of bear bait hunting argue that it’s a good way to closely observe bears and avoid shooting a female with cubs by mistake.

Proposed Bear-Baiting Ban In Wyoming Sparks Debate Over What’s Ethical In Bear Hunting

A coalition of animal welfare groups is backing a congressional bill to ban bear-baiting on federal land in Wyoming and other states, but some hunters argue it’s an ethical way to hunt bears.

Mark HeinzJuly 22, 2025

Story That Grizzly 399’s Cub Spirit Found Through DNA Testing Is Bogus

Rumors started flying online Sunday that Grizzly 399’s final cub, Spirit, has been found alive and identified through DNA. Wyoming wildlife officials say don’t believe it, that it’s a bogus story.

Mark HeinzJuly 21, 2025

KelTec Gun Factory In Rock Springs Aims To Churn Out 1,000 Pistols Per Week

The KelTec firearms factory in Rock Springs is up and running, producing unusual PR57 pistols the company hopes will grab a big share of the self-defense market. It aims to make 1,000 pistols a week.

Mark HeinzJuly 21, 2025

Maya is a border collie that never took to herding sheep at the Warren Livestock Company ranch near Cheyenne. Instead, she gets to hang out in the ranch house with her favorite human, Susan Samuelson.

Meet Maya, The Pint-Sized Wyoming Sheep Dog That Doesn’t Like Sheep

Maya is a border collie that was literally born to herd sheep. Born under a Wyoming sheep wagon, she’s undersized, doesn’t like sheep and is terrified of the barn cat. Even so, she’s living an enviable ranch dog life.

Mark HeinzJuly 20, 2025

Drives on this part of Louis Loop Road can expect a bumpy ride dominated by a washboard road.

One Of Wyoming’s Most Beautiful Drives Is Also A Kidney-Rattling Washboard Ride

Just past Sinks Canyon State Park south of Lander is Louis Lake Loop Road. Nearly 100 years old, it leads to some of Wyoming’s most beautiful places, but it's a rough ride. The road wasn't built for today's traffic. It was designed to handle Model Ts going 15 mph.

Mark HeinzJuly 19, 2025

Barbed fishing hooks inflict ghastly injuries to prized trout in the North Platte River near Casper. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission ruled to ban barbed hooks along sections of the river.

Mouth-Ripping Barbed Hooks Banned On North Platte Blue-Ribbon Trout Fisheries

Barbed fishing hooks inflict ghastly injuries to prized trout in the North Platte River near Casper. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission this week banned barbed hooks along sections of the river, a move fishing guides say is overdue.

Mark HeinzJuly 18, 2025

The National Park Service has put up lighthearted signs warning people of a fox, or foxes, stealing shoes from the Lizard Creek campground in Grand Teton National Park.

Fox-Turned-Shoe Bandit Makes Grand Teton’s ‘Most Wanted’ List

At least one naughty fox has been making off with people’s shoes from a campground in Grand Teton National Park. At least 32 shoes have been stolen so far, prompting the park to put the fox on its “Most Wanted” list.

Mark HeinzJuly 18, 2025

Fred Eshelman, the landowner at the center of Wyoming’s famous “corner-crossing” case, has lost every court battle against hunters who crossed at the corner of his property to get to public land. Wednesday, he filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

Supreme Court Petition Is Final Hail Mary For Wyoming Corner-Crossing Landowner

The landowner at the center of Wyoming’s famous “corner-crossing” case has lost every court battle against hunters who crossed at the corner of his property to get to public land. Wednesday, he filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2025

Montana Considers Killing Nearly Half Of Its Wolf Population

Montana is considering setting a wolf kill quota of 500 for the 2025-2026 wolf seasons, nearly half of its wolf population. It would allow hunters and trappers to take as many as 15 wolves each.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2025

Dozens of landowners showed up at the Game and Fish Commission in Casper Tuesday, to speak out against proposed changes in the landowner hunting tag program.

After Hours Of Testimony, Commission Rejects Changes To Landowner Hunting Tags

After landowners showed up in force to oppose proposed changes to landowner hunting tag requirements, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission rejected the changes Tuesday.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2025

Horses from the Salt Wells Creek mustang herd will be spared from Bureau of Land Management roundups, at least for now, after a federal court ruled against the BLM.

Federal Court Halts Roundup Of Rare Wyoming Curly-Haired Mustangs

A plan to round up rare curly-haired mustangs from herds in southcentral Wyoming is on hold after a Tuesday federal court ruling. The court sided with horse advocate groups against the BLM’s plan.

Mark HeinzJuly 15, 2025

Jackson-Area resident Sarah Harrison MacMillan found this unidentified dead critter floating in the South Fork of the Shoshone River on Saturday. She thinks is might be a young marmot, but others have guessed that it could be an otter, a fisher or even a baby wolverine.

Jackson Woman Stupefied By Dead Mystery Critter Floating In Shoshone River

A Jackson-area woman found a cat-sized dead animal floating in the South Fork of the Shoshone River on Saturday. She doesn’t know what it is and is going nuts trying to positively identify the critter. And it's not a cat.

Mark HeinzJuly 15, 2025

After venturing into Sheridan, this healthy young female black bear was trapped by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department July 5. The bear was set loose deep in the Bighorn Mountains the next day.

Black Bears In Sheridan County Towns So Routine People Say They're Neighbors

Black bears showing up in Sheridan, Story, Dayton and other towns around the Bighorn Mountains has become routine for folks there. Locals say they feel like the bears are neighbors, but “repeat offender” bears sometimes have to be killed.

Mark HeinzJuly 14, 2025

Killing Older Horses An Option To Trim Wyoming Mustang Herds, Coalition Says

A coalition of conservation and hunting groups claims that holding facilities for mustangs across the West are bursting at the seams. Euthanizing older horses could be a necessary last resort to get things under control, they say.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2025

A hunter scopes out a herd of Wyoming antelope. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday could face hundreds of landowners and residents angry over proposed changes to the landowner hunting tag program. The new regulations could cut as many as 70% of the current allotment of landowner tags.

Hundreds Of Landowners Angry Over Proposed Wyoming Hunting Tag Changes

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday could face hundreds of landowners and residents angry over proposed changes to the landowner hunting tag program. The new regulations could cut as many as 70% of the current allotment of landowner tags.

Mark HeinzJuly 13, 2025