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
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
Ranger Who Quit Over Trump Policies Calls Removing Grand Teton Placard Censorship
A Park Service ranger who quit over Trump's policies says removing a placard at the Grand Teton visitor center about a massacre of Blackfeet was censorship. A retired ranger from Wyoming says Trump's just doing away with years of “woke” misguidance.
Mark HeinzAugust 03, 2026
End Of An Era: Grand Teton's Favorite Mighty Grizzly, Bruno, Is Getting Old
For years, a huge male grizzly called Bruno was one of the brawniest bears in Grand Teton National Park. But at roughly age 22, Bruno is past his prime and those who routinely watch him are saying he's gotten thinner and "is on the downhill side."
Mark HeinzAugust 03, 2026
How "Wire Winders" Roll Up Old Fencing Quickly, Keep Wildlife From Getting Tangled
With countless miles of rusty old fences threatening wildlife across Wyoming, conservationists say devices called wire winders are a game changer. They can roll up a half-mile of old fence in two minutes, a task that would take a half-day by hand,
Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2026
As Wyoming's Prime Trout Waters Heat Up, Anglers Urged To Quit Casting After Noon
Summer heat has sent water temperatures soaring above 70 degrees in some of Wyoming's prime trout fishing waters, so Game and Fish is urging anglers to quit before noon. When it gets that hot, catch-and-release fishing stress and can kill trout.
Mark HeinzAugust 01, 2026
Neighbors Rally Against Planned 95-Unit Apartment Complex Near Laramie Greenbelt
Opponents of a proposed 80-to-95-unit apartment complex along the Laramie Greenbelt say it will push floodwaters toward a historic neighborhood and ruin wildlife habitat. The city says "that isn't a major concern" and housing needs are urgent.
Mark HeinzAugust 01, 2026