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MH
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

Latest from Mark Heinz

Adobe town, south of Rock Springs along rough gravel and dirt roads, is one of Wyoming’s most isolated locations.

Sweetwater County Turns To Hageman For Help On BLM Rock Springs Plan

It remains uncertain how the Bureau of Land Management’s plan for 3.6 million acres in south-central Wyoming will pan out. But Sweetwater County officials hope it stays to their liking.

Mark HeinzApril 02, 2025

With the repeal of Wyoming’s gun-free zones, concealed carrying of firearms will be allowed in University of Wyoming buildings starting July 1. It’s already to legal to carry outside on campus grounds.

UW To End Gun-Free Zones July 1 And Allow Concealed Guns Inside Buildings

With the repeal of Wyoming’s gun-free zones, concealed carrying of firearms will be allowed in University of Wyoming buildings starting July 1. It’s already legal to carry outside on campus grounds.

Mark HeinzApril 02, 2025

The city of Rock Springs has contracted with the Wyoming-based Goat-Green LLC company to bring in 300 goats. The goats are gobbling their way through brush and grass that’s clogging up drainages near the city center.

Rock Springs Hires Goat Army To Munch Its Way Through Clogged Canals

Rock Springs has weeds, brush and grass clogging vital drainage canals through the heart of town. An army of 300 goats has been let loose to gobble their way through.

Mark HeinzApril 01, 2025

There’s a dispute over exactly where the boundary line is between land owned by the South Dakota ranchers Heather and Charles Maude and national grassland controlled by the Forest Service. The couple was served federal indictments alleging theft of government property.

Federal Fence Line Fight With Ranchers Is ‘Odd,’ Wyoming Attorney Says

An ongoing fence line fight between a South Dakota ranch family and the U.S. Forest Service has grabbed national attention. It also seems “odd,” says a Wyoming attorney who has handled land disputes.

Mark HeinzMarch 31, 2025

Candida Haasch runs the Warriors of the Rainbow Horse Sanctuary in Missouri and would love to adopt curly-haired mustangs from Wyoming.

Missouri Trainer Wants All The Wyoming Curly-Haired Mustangs She Can Get

A Missouri horse trainer says she’ll take all the curly-haired Wyoming mustangs she can get. She says they’d be perfect for a prisoner-rehabilitation program similar to what the Wyoming Honor Farm has.

Mark HeinzMarch 30, 2025

Sandhill cranes take flight at Wyoming’s Table Mountain wildlife habitat management area.

Thousands Of Cranes Pour Into Wyoming For Spring Migration, Even A Few Whoopers

Sandhill cranes are pouring into Wyoming by the thousands during spring migration. A few rare whooping cranes are showing up too. Many cranes come here to nest and raise their young.

Mark HeinzMarch 29, 2025

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Even In Wyoming, Experts Say Shooting At Someone Stealing Your Stuff Not A Good Idea

It’s best to know what the law says about using a gun to defend yourself, your home and possessions in Wyoming before opening fire, experts say. A Casper man may learn that after unloading at his own truck while a guy was stealing it.

Mark HeinzMarch 29, 2025

Heather and Charles Maude, owners of Maude Hog & Cattle near Caputa, South Dakota, were each served with separate federal indictments over a fence line dispute with the U.S. Forest Service.

Wyoming Ranchers Ask Trump For Help In Family's Fence Line Fight With Feds

Wyoming ranchers have asked President Donald Trump to intervene in their daughter and son-in-law’s property dispute with the U.S. Forest Service in South Dakota.

Mark HeinzMarch 28, 2025

Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis is a backing a bill to lift 90-year-old restrictions on short-barreled rifles and shotguns. A Wyoming firearms law expert agrees, calling the restrictions “silly.”

Lummis Wants End To ‘Silly’ Restrictions On Short-Barreled Rifles, Shotguns

Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis is a backing a bill to lift 90-year-old restrictions on short-barreled rifles and shotguns. A Wyoming firearms law expert agrees, calling the restrictions “silly.”

Mark HeinzMarch 28, 2025

A pack of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park.

If Feds Delist Wolves Everywhere, Will Colorado’s Reintroduction Program Crash?

A push is underway to get wolves delisted from federal protection across the Lower 48, but it remains unclear how that might affect wolf management policies in Wyoming and Colorado.

Mark HeinzMarch 28, 2025

A North Carolina man uses a bear suit black bears off his lawn. Some Wyomingites said trying that with a grizzly would be insane. They could maul you, or worse, try to get frisky.

Man In Bear Suit Scares Off Black Bear; He’s Lucky It Wasn’t A Wyoming Grizzly

A North Carolina man uses a bear suit to scare black bears off his lawn. Some Wyomingites said trying that with a grizzly would be insane. They could maul you, or worse, try to get frisky.

Mark HeinzMarch 27, 2025

Wyoming gun rights advocates are blasting a Wednesday U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Biden-era “ghost gun” rules. The regs require serial numbers and background checks for self-made firearms.

Wyoming Gun Owners Blast Supreme Court For Upholding Biden-Era ‘Ghost Gun’ Rules

Wyoming gun rights advocates are blasting a Wednesday U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Biden-era “ghost gun” rules. The regs require serial numbers and background checks for self-made firearms.

Mark HeinzMarch 26, 2025

Other Authors

Yellowstone’s Bison have merged into a “single breeding population,” according to a new study. It might be necessary to establish new herds in places like Wyoming’s Red Desert to prevent inbreeding.

New Herd In Wyoming’s Red Desert Could Save Yellowstone Bison From Inbreeding

Yellowstone’s bison have merged into a “single breeding population,” according to a new study. Because of that, it might be necessary at some point to establish new herds in places like Wyoming’s Red Desert to prevent inbreeding.

Mark HeinzMarch 26, 2025

Hope is running high in Sweetwater County that millions of acres of federal land won’t be locked up as Harriet Hageman pushes to revise Bureau of Land Management plans across the West, including Wyoming's vast Red Desert.

Rock Springs Land Use Plan On Hold As Congress Revises BLM Western Priorities

Hope is running high in southwest Wyoming that millions of acres of federal land won’t be locked up as Harriet Hageman pushes Congress to revise Bureau of Land Management plans across the West.

Mark HeinzMarch 24, 2025

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If Colorado Wolves Keep Crossing Into Wyoming, They Might Not Last Long

A transplanted wolf showing up in Wyoming wasn’t unexpected, neither was it being killed for preying on livestock. With Wyoming’s shoot-on-sight policy for wolves in most of the state, that’s not likely to change.

Mark HeinzMarch 21, 2025

An online rumor that children’s Benadryl can save people from rattlesnake bites has gone viral around Wyoming. But it’s false, and a medical expert says taking it after a rattler bites could get you killed.

Taking Benadryl For Rattlesnake Bites Can Get You Killed, Medical Expert Says

An online rumor that children’s Benadryl can save people from rattlesnake bites has gone viral around Wyoming. But it’s false, and a medical expert says taking it after a rattler bites could get you killed.

Mark HeinzMarch 21, 2025

A former Wyoming resident who had moved to Alabama was busted for illegally killing a deer 26 years after the fact, and after dodging a bench warrant for 24 years.

Former Wyoming Resident Busted For Illegal Deer Killing 26 Years Later

A former Wyoming resident who had moved to Alabama was busted for illegally killing a deer 26 years after the fact, and after dodging a bench warrant for 24 years.

Mark HeinzMarch 20, 2025

One of the wolves brought into Colorado from British Columbia in January and released in Colorado was killed in Wyoming on Friday. It had killed five sheep in north-central Wyoming, wildlife officials report.

Transplanted Colorado Wolf Killed In Wyoming Had Been Attacking Sheep

A wolf from Colorado that killed five sheep in north-central Wyoming was killed by USDA Wildlife Services on Saturday. It was one of the wolves brought into Colorado from British Columbia and released there as part of that state's reintroduction program.

Mark HeinzMarch 20, 2025

Environmental groups are pushing to block the nomination of former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But a former FWS warden says he’s the right pick.

Environmentalists Push To Block Brian Nesvik As Pick To Lead Fish & Wildlife

Environmental groups are pushing to block the nomination of former Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But a former FWS warden says he’s the right pick.

Mark HeinzMarch 19, 2025

A federal court will decide whether a herd of rare curly-haired mustangs will be rounded up and removed from southwest Wyoming.

Federal Court To Decide Fate Of Wyoming’s Rare Curly-Haired Wild Mustangs

A panel of three federal judges in 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is considering whether mustangs, including rare curly-haired horses, will be rounded up and removed from southwest Wyoming.

Mark HeinzMarch 19, 2025

Many hope that Spirit, the last cub of Grizzly 399, is still alive and will emerge from hibernation this spring.

Watch Is On For 399’s Cub Spirit: If He Survived, Will Anyone Recognize Him?

Grief over the death of Wyoming’s Grizzly 399 was tempered by hope that her cub, Spirit, might survive on his own. But even if he did, it might be impossible to distinguish Spirit from any other 2-year-old grizzly.

Mark HeinzMarch 18, 2025

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