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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

Mustang advocates claim that the Bureau of Land Management funneled horses to dealers who subsequently sold them for slaughter.

Mustang Advocates Claim BLM Funneled Wyoming Wild Horses To Dealer For Slaughter

Mustang advocates are alleging that horses were funneled from a Bureau of Land Management holding facility near Lander to dealers in other states, who subsequently sold them for slaughter. A BLM spokesperson says the agency prioritizes adoption.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2026

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No Joke: Scientists Launch OnlyFans Account To Raise Money For Marmot Project

Struggling for funding, researchers have launched an account on the racy OnlyFans website called OnlyMarms to raise money for a marmot project. Instead of erotica, the site features marmot videos. A Wyoming wildlife biologist describes the effort as "innovative."

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2026

Wolf 1090F, of the Mollie’s pack in Yellowstone National Park, recently hit the age of 12 years. That makes her her the oldest living wolf in the park, and one of the oldest ever.

Advocates Offer $10,000 Bounty To Name Hunters Who Kill Famed Yellowstone Wolves

A social media influencer and others are offering a $10,000 bounty for the identities of hunters who shoot members of Yellowstone National Park's famed Mollie’s wolf pack this fall. Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce calls the bounty “outrageous.”

Mark HeinzJuly 29, 2026

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True told state lawmakers in Casper on Tuesday that electronic ear tags for cattle are here to stay. A hoped-for executive order from President Trump rescinding the electronic tag requirement didn’t happen, he said.

No Trump Executive Order: Livestock Director Says Electronic Cattle Tags Here To Stay

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True told state lawmakers in Casper on Tuesday that electronic ear tags for cattle are here to stay. A hoped-for executive order from President Trump rescinding the electronic tag requirement didn’t happen, he said.

Mark HeinzJuly 28, 2026

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Bureau of Land Management closed several roads around Woodruff Narrows Reservoir north of Evanston. People were using the roads for unauthorized travel on private land, the agencies said.

State Closes Popular Evanston Recreation Roads After Private Lands 'Torn Up'

After angry landowners near a recreation area north of Evanston complained of their property being "torn up," state officials closed the roads. "The landowners are sick of having their land torn up," BLM spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman said.

Mark HeinzJuly 28, 2026

Eagle 2N, also called Aurum (Latin for “gold”) survived being hit by a car and lead poisoning. She and her mate are raising young in the Bighorn Basin.

Bighorn Basin Golden Eagle Hit By Car And Lead Poisoning Now Raising Young

A Wyoming eagle called Aurum was barely a year old and suffering from lead poisoning when she was hit by a car near Meeteetse. She somehow survived both and is now beating the odds by raising her young in the Bighorn Basin.

Mark HeinzJuly 27, 2026

Scenic boat tours on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park have shut down two months early due to low water levels as southern Idaho agricultural users draw from the lake. Large boats are unable to get out of Colter Bay Marina onto the main lake.

Low Water Cancels Jackson Lake Boat Tours In Grand Teton Two Months Early 

Scenic boat tours on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park have shut down two months early due to low water levels as southern Idaho agricultural users draw from the lake. Large boats are unable to get out of Colter Bay Marina onto the main lake.

Mark HeinzJuly 27, 2026

During the peak antler growing-season of spring and early summer, bull elk and buck deer can add an inch per day to their antlers thanks to lush foliage. Now that it's the peak of summer, antler growth will grind almost to a halt.

After Growing Fast Through July, Elk And Deer Antlers About As Big As They’ll Get

During the peak antler growing-season of spring and early summer, Wyoming bull elk and buck deer can add an inch per day to their antlers thanks to lush foliage. Now that it's the peak of summer, antler growth will grind almost to a halt.

Mark HeinzJuly 26, 2026

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‘Rain Makers’ Say They Can Boost Wyoming’s Water Supply, Wyo Lawmakers Want Proof

A Colorado “rain maker” company claims it has used electricity to boost water supplies in two western states by 10-15% and can do it for Wyoming if lawmakers don't conflate their methods with cloud seeding. Two legislators say they want proof first.

Mark HeinzJuly 24, 2026

Wolf 1090F is a member of the Mollie's Pack. At age 12, she is thought to be the oldest living wolf in the Yellowstone area.

Mollie's Wolf Pack Was Just 'Looking For Food' When It Left Yellowstone

The famed Mollie’s Pack was just “looking for food” when it left Yellowstone to den on the Shoshone National Forest, a biologist says. But in doing so, the wolves kicked off a tempest of controversy over whether they should be hunted.

Mark HeinzJuly 24, 2026

Bicyclists slowing down to take photos of a bison in Yellowstone

Bison Biologist: Yellowstone Bulls Are Extra Ornery Because They're In A Rut

Ornery Yellowstone bull bison have now tossed a grandpa 8 feet in the air, chased a man around cabins and popped a car tire, because they're in their annual rut, says one bison biologist. A bison rancher says one solution is a face full of bear spray.

Mark HeinzJuly 22, 2026

This grizzly was photographed on May 6 in Glacier National Park in Montana. There was a fatal bear attack in the park on May 3.

"Nightmare Scenario": Victim Of Glacier Grizzly Attack Likely Surprised Bear In The Dark

Officials concluded Tuesday that a 33-year-old man likely surprised a grizzly in the dark before he was killed in Glacier National Park in May. Running into a bear in the dark is a “nightmare scenario,” said an outdoorsman who was in the park at the time.

Mark HeinzJuly 22, 2026

Other Authors

Mia, a German shepherd, was trying to take a bathroom break during a road trip with her owners when Yellowstone tourists mistook her for a bear. 

Tourists Stop To Look At Yellowstone Bear — But It Was Only A Pooping Dog

Tourists driving through Yellowstone thought they had spotted a bear, so they stopped their cars to look at it. They were disappointed to learn it was only a pooping German shepherd. "She looked very much like a small bear,” said the dog’s owner.

Mark HeinzJuly 21, 2026

Grizzly advocates in Montana want bear spray to be mandatory for hunters like wearing fluorescent orange is now.

Montana Grizzly Advocates Want Bear Spray Mandatory for Hunters, Trappers

Grizzly advocates in Montana submitted a petition Tuesday to make bear spray mandatory for hunters like wearing fluorescent orange is now. Guy Eastman of Cody has hunted numerous times in grizzly country and said the idea “isn’t going to fly with hunters.”

Mark HeinzJuly 21, 2026

Aggressive elk attack far more people than grizzlies, black bears, coyotes and mule deer, according to an extensive study. Elk "can inflict serious damage with those stomps and kicks,” said a wildlife specialist. Here, an elk gets aggressive with a car near Mammoth, Wyoming.

Study: In Tourist Areas, Aggressive Elk Attack Far More People Than Grizzly Bears

Aggressive elk attack far more people than grizzlies, black bears, coyotes and mule deer — especially in tourist areas, according to an extensive study. Elk "can inflict serious damage with those stomps and kicks,” said a wildlife specialist.

Mark HeinzJuly 21, 2026

Retired Forest Service hydrologist and wildlife photographer Pete Bengeyfield has been watching and photographing grizzlies, such as this one, in Wyoming and Montana for decades and says bears are plentiful.

Even If Grizzlies Have ‘Recovered,’ Advocates Still Don’t Want The Bears Delisted

Grizzly advocate Pete Bengeyfield, who has been watching and photographing the bears for decades, said even he has to admit there are probably enough of them to consider the species “recovered." However, he still opposes having the bears delisted.

Mark HeinzJuly 18, 2026

The Mollie’s Pack is Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack and includes the famous Wolf 1090F. The pack has strayed outside the park into a Wyoming wolf hunt area, and activists worry that 1090F will be shot this fall. They are requesting the pack be protected.

Oldest Yellowstone Wolf Pack Strays Into Hunt Area, Activists Want Pack Protected

The Mollie’s Pack is Yellowstone's oldest wolf pack and includes the famous Wolf 1090F. The pack has strayed outside the park into a Wyoming wolf hunt area, and activists worry that 1090F will be shot this fall. They are requesting the pack be protected.

Mark HeinzJuly 17, 2026

The study, published in Ecology And Evolution found that cortisol levels in hair samples from cows indicate that cattle exposed to wolves experienced different levels of seasonal cortisol fluctuation, compared to those not exposed to wolves.

Study Says Wolves Stress Cows Out; Ranchers Say, ‘We Told You So’

Ranchers in Wyoming said a new study that shows cattle get stressed out by wolves is something they've been saying all along. “We ranchers have known about this for years. Why do you think our great-great grandfathers eradicated them?" one rancher said.

Mark HeinzJuly 17, 2026

Although manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, gun rights activists are alarmed. Buffalo's Mark Jones, of Gun Owners of America, says it violates the Second and Fourth Amendments.

Wyoming Gun Activists Increasingly Alarmed Over AI Cameras Searching For Guns

Although manufacturers of AI software that uses surveillance cameras to search for guns say it makes people safer, gun rights activists are alarmed. Buffalo's Mark Jones, of Gun Owners of America, says it violates the Second and Fourth Amendments.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2026

Eagles and other raptors are highly vulnerable to colliding with wind turbines.

Wyoming Wind Turbines Killed More Than 23,000 Birds And Bats Last Year

More than 23,000 birds and bats were killed by wind turbines in Wyoming in 2025, according to a report presented Wednesday to the state Game and Fish Commission. “They’re flying around and they’re not paying attention to those blades,” said an official.

Mark HeinzJuly 16, 2026

Grizzly bears, such as this female with cubs near Cody, would be brought under state management, according to a proposal put forward by U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Full Implications Of Fed Move To Hand Grizzly Management Over To States Unclear

It remained unclear Wednesday whether a federal decision to hand management of grizzlies over to the state will set the stage for a full delisting of grizzlies. But Rep. Harriet Hageman said efforts will continue to get them delisted through legislation.

Mark HeinzJuly 15, 2026

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