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
Huge Elk Herds With Wyoming Roots Take Over Colorado Mountain Town
Much like Wyoming’s Yellowstone and Grand Teton areas, Estes Park, Colorado, has wildlife jams and gawking tourists as elk herds pass right through town during twice-yearly migrations.
Mark HeinzOctober 29, 2023
Isolated Wyoming Ranchers Want To Build One-Room Schoolhouse In Middle Of Nowhere
Parts of northern Albany County, Wyoming, are so remote it takes more than an hour to get to the nearest school — in good weather. Instead of an insane commute, a ranch family wants to build a one-room schoolhouse on their property.
Mark HeinzOctober 28, 2023
Chances Are That Grizzly Isn't Stalking You, It's Just Using The Trail
Despite some tourists in Canada being terrified over a pair of grizzlies “following” them for more than 15 minutes, grizzly experts say the bears probably just wanted to use the trail and didn’t have any interest in having the hikers for a snack.
Mark HeinzOctober 28, 2023
Hageman Introduces Legislation To Block Controversial BLM Rock Springs Plan
In a bid to bring Congress into the fray over the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial draft Rock Springs Management Plan, Rep. Harriet Hagman has introduced a bill to block it.
Mark HeinzOctober 27, 2023
Teton County Moose Lock Antlers, Drown In Furious Mating Season Battle
In the fury of a mating season battle, two large bull moose apparently fought to exhaustion and, with their antlers locked together, fell over and drowned in a creek in rural Teton County.
Mark HeinzOctober 26, 2023
Media Goes Bonkers Over Prairie Grizzly Near Montana Town
Although residents of Creston, Montana, said the sight of a giant grizzly lumbering through a field near the town isn’t that unusual, newcomers and media organizations have gone bananas over it.
Mark HeinzOctober 25, 2023
Proposed Colorado Mountain Lion Hunting Ban Shows Rural-Urban Divide
A proposed ban on mountain lion hunting in Colorado is based on emotion, not science, and will just create more problems between people and predators, a wildlife conservationist said.
Mark HeinzOctober 25, 2023
Fourth Montana Grizzly Shot By Hunter Claiming Self-Defense
For the fourth time this year, an outdoorsman in Montana shot and killed a charging grizzly bear, claiming it was in self-defense.
Mark HeinzOctober 25, 2023
Controversial BLM Rock Springs Plan Could Devastate Tourism, Boosters Say
The Bureau of Land Management’s proposed plan for the 3.6 million acres in the Rock Springs area could devastate tourism in Sweetwater County, which generates millions in revenue and 1,400 local jobs, tourism booster claim.
Mark HeinzOctober 24, 2023
First-Time Wyoming Hunter Had To Watch Elk Suffer After Another Took Bad Shot
A first-time Wyoming elk hunter found himself in an ethical and legal quandary Sunday as he watched a bull elk shot by another hunter suffer and die slowly.
Mark HeinzOctober 24, 2023
Former BLM Director Says Wyoming Would Win If It Sues Over Rock Springs Plan
The Bureau of Land Management’s controversial Rock Springs management plan for 3.6 million acres of public land probably won’t stand up to court challenges because it’s unconstitutional, says former BLM Director William Perry Pendley.
Mark HeinzOctober 23, 2023
Hunting Wyoming: Campbell County Known For Antelope — If You Can Get To Them
Outdoors writer Mark Heinz is doing a series on hunting in all 23 counties in Wyoming. For Campbell County, Mark says the high plains big game herds are plentiful, but getting permission to access some of the best areas can be challenging.
Mark HeinzOctober 22, 2023
Not Just Wyoming: BLM Has Controversial Plans For Moab, Other Areas Around West
A Wyoming off-highway vehicle enthusiast says he’s worried the BLM’s controversial and restrictive Rock Springs management plan is part of a broad effort to remake public land use across the West.
Mark HeinzOctober 20, 2023
Hunting Wyoming: Elk Doing Well in Sweetwater County, But Deer, Antelope Down
Outdoors writer Mark Heinz is doing a series on hunting in all 23 counties in Wyoming. For Sweetwater County, Mark says the elk herds are doing great – but similar to the situation in Carbon County – antelope and deer herds suffered massive winterkill losses.
Mark HeinzOctober 20, 2023
After Tip From Ex-Wife, Wyoming Man Charged With Killing Four Grizzlies
A Powell man is accused of illegally killing four grizzly bears, including two cubs, after wildlife officials began an investigation based on a tip from his ex-wife.
Mark HeinzOctober 19, 2023
Controversial BLM Plan Comment Period Extended After Wyomingites Protest
Wyomingites spoke, and the Bureau of Land Management listened, announcing Thursday morning that the agency has extended the public comment period for its controversial Rock Springs Resource Management Plan to Jan. 17, 2024.
Mark HeinzOctober 19, 2023
Hunters Warned About Taking Big Game Heads Left From Massive Wyoming Winterkill
Thanks to massive winterkill leaving big game carcasses scattered across the landscape, Wyoming hunters might get a chance to take home more than one trophy this fall, but they must follow the rules.
Mark HeinzOctober 18, 2023
If BLM OKs Controversial Rock Springs Plan, Don’t Expect Local Cooperation
Should the BLM approve its controversial and widely criticized plan for managing 1.8 million acres of public land in Wyoming, don’t expect local law enforcement to cooperate, Sweetwater County officials say.
Mark HeinzOctober 18, 2023
‘Elk Massacre’ When Pickup Plows Into Herd Near Meeteetse
A “Sunday morning elk massacre” killed several animals when a pickup plowed into a herd along Wyoming Highway 120 near Meeteetse, an area where critters frequently cross the highway.
Mark HeinzOctober 17, 2023
Hunting Wyoming: Weston County Famous For Its Mountain Lions And Turkeys
Outdoors writer Mark Heinz is doing a series on hunting in all 23 counties in Wyoming. For Weston County, Mark says access to elk and deer areas can be hit and miss, but it has some of the state’s best mountain lion and turkey hunting.
Mark HeinzOctober 17, 2023
Wyoming Hunters Angry Over Pile Of Coyote Carcasses Dumped In Public
Wyoming hunters are reacting with anger over whoever left a pile of dead coyotes along a road to a popular recreation area near Rock Springs. They say it undercuts the importance of ethical predator control.
Mark HeinzOctober 16, 2023