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 man suffered wounds to his upper right arm when a bear bit him as he was relaxing in a hammock in a Colorado campground late Saturday.

Colorado Wildlife Agents Intend To Kill Bear That Bit Man’s Arm

Colorado wildlife agents on Tuesday are tracking and want to kill a black bear that bit a man’s arm while he was relaxing in a hammock over the weekend.

Mark HeinzAugust 08, 2023

It's unusual, but not unheard of, for bears to break into homes while looking for food, as in this file photo from a video of a bear break-in a few years ago.

Man Shoots Bear In His Living Room Near Wyoming

A Montana couple got up close and personal with a black bear that broke into their house last week. It ended up in their living room, where the homeowner shot it with a handgun.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2023

‘Surprise’ Grizzly Mauling Near Dubois Leaves Man Hospitalized

A “surprise encounter” grizzly mauling near Dubois early Saturday left a man hospitalized, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Mark HeinzAugust 07, 2023

Wyoming Scientists Skeptical Of Latest Hype Over UFOs, Alien Life

University of Wyoming astronomers said there is likely other intelligent life in the universe but the recent Congressional hearings don't offer much proof that there are space aliens on Earth.

Mark HeinzAugust 06, 2023

Jenna Bourgeois of Big Timber, Montana breeds Karelian Bear Dogs. He likes to camp at Vedauwoo in Wyoming, where there’s plenty of space for the energetic dogs.

Karelian Bear Dogs Can Fend Off Grizzlies, But Are Also Friendly

Karelian bear dogs are trained to protect their owners from grizzly bears, but are also friendly enough to make good family dogs.

Mark HeinzAugust 05, 2023

Otter Attacks Women Tubing On Montana River, Sending One To Hospital

A vicious otter attack on a Montana river that left a woman gravely injured mirrors an otter attack near La Barge, Wyoming, several years ago.

Mark HeinzAugust 04, 2023

A wolf in Wyoming gets a drink in this file photo.

Vedauwoo Wolf Sighting Report Likely Legitimate, Biologist Says

A retired wildlife biologist said the reporting of two wolves in the Vedauwoo area between Cheyenne and Laramie is likely legitimate. He said the wolves are probably from Yellowstone or Colorado.

Mark HeinzAugust 03, 2023

The Spirit Halloween store in Cheyenne opened late Thursday morning, and immediately started early fans of the spooky season.

Halloween In August: Cheyenne Fans Of The Spooky Season Get Early Start

For fans of Halloween, it’s never too early to start preparing for the spooky season, which began Thursday in Cheyenne with the annual opening of Spirit Halloween.

Mark HeinzAugust 03, 2023

The Cheyenne East High School clay target team practices at a local range in this file photo.

Wyoming Rebuffs Feds That Hunter Education Is ‘Dangerous Weapon Training’

Potential cuts to teaching hunter education in public schools because they provide “dangerous weapon training” are wrong, misguided and would deprive Wyoming kids of valuable “life skills,” local officials say.

Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2023

Black Bear, Cub Killed After Attack Near Wyoming State Line

Game agents tracked down and killed a female black bear and her cub, after the female attacked a homeowner near Victor, Idaho, near the Wyoming state line. The incident mirrors dust-ups with black bears this year in Wyoming.

Mark HeinzAugust 02, 2023

Female hikers in Wyoming are alert after reports from nearby Colorado where a pervert has accosted women on trails.

Colorado Trail Pervert Has Wyoming Outdoorswomen Being Extra Vigilant

Wyoming hikers and trail runners are being extra vigilant after a hit-and-run sexual predator targeting women on some popular Colorado hiking trails remains unidentified.

Mark HeinzAugust 01, 2023

Yellowstone cutthroat trout have struggled in their native waters. The Forest Service is considering killing all the rainbow trout in a popular wilderness creek to give the cutthroats and edge.

Feds Want To Kill Rainbow Trout In Popular Yellowstone Wilderness Drainage

The Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife plan to kill all the rainbow trout in the Buffalo Creek drainage just north of Yellowstone Park and replace them with native cutthroats.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2023

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Members of the Cheyenne East High School trap shooting team take aim, waiting for a clay target.

Wyoming Coach Criticizes Biden Plan To Cut Money For Shooting Programs

A Biden administration plan to cut federal money for school-sponsored shooting and hunting programs is part of the “wokeism” that’s “ruining America,” says Cheyenne East High trap shooting coach.

Mark HeinzJuly 31, 2023

This notch is the only way through “The Great Wall” — one of the highlights of Wyoming’s “Big Balls” backcountry hiking trail.

Explore Wyoming: "Big Balls" Trail Is A Hidden Wilderness Gem

The “Big Balls of Cowtown Trail” — or as it’s more commonly called “Big Balls" — isn’t officially designated on any maps. But for those willing to go the extra miles to find it in the Gros Ventre wilderness, it’s a great hike.

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2023

Brooklyn, New York, residents Tom Moran, a firefighter, and Josie Moran, a teacher, talk about their favorite parts of visiting Wyoming for the first time, including people’s reaction to Tom’s thick Brooklyn accent.

Were These New Yorkers Impressed At Their First Cheyenne Frontier Days? Fuhgeddaboudit

Cowboys, pro rodeo and trucks — lots of trucks — made impressions on a couple from Brooklyn during their first trip to Wyoming and Cheyenne Frontier Days.

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2023

Deer Haven Lodge Near Ten Sleep Isn’t Being Torn Down, It Has New Owners

Contrary to rumors it's being torn down, one of Wyoming’s favorite getaways, the Deer Haven Lodge near Ten Sleep hasn’t met its demise. It has new owners.

Mark HeinzJuly 30, 2023

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologists examine two yearling sibling grizzlies. The young bears, along with a third sibling (not pictured) had to be tranquilized and relocated from the prairie near Valier, Montana earlier this month. They had been hanging around peoples’ houses.

Rancher Changes View On Prairie Grizzlies, 'We Can Live With These Bears'

One Montana rancher said she resented grizzlies returning to the prairies at first because a bear killed several of her sheep but now she's OK with them reclaiming their home on the range.

Mark HeinzJuly 29, 2023

Powell Native Dave Zlomke (left) and his brother Tim were all but inseparable their entire lives. Most recently, they founded a successful axe throwing business in Huston. Dave Zlomke drowned Sunday in the Clark Fork River in Montana.

A Powell Founding Family Grieves Drowning Death Of Gentle Giant

Powell Native Tim Zlomke is grieving and remembering his brother Dave Zlomke, 45, who drowned Sunday while on vacation in Montana. They grew up in Powell in a family that goes back to the town’s founding.

Mark HeinzJuly 28, 2023

Farmer Videos Grizzlies Frolicking On His Potato Farm

Normally grizzlies are spotted in mountainous country, but their range has been expanding. Most recently, two grizzlies were filmed on a potato farm in eastern Idaho.

Mark HeinzJuly 27, 2023

Game & Fish Says Ending Elk Feeding In Wyoming Would Be Bad Idea

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s proposed revisions to its elk feeding program has drawn criticism from environmentalists and agricultural quarters. But the agency claims it’s taking a balanced approach.

Mark HeinzJuly 26, 2023

Wyoming Game and Fish agents had to kill this young grizzly bear after it repeatedly showed bold and aggressive behavior toward people along roads and in campgrounds in northwest Wyoming.

Wyoming Game And Fish Kills Young Grizzly That Raided Campgrounds, Pushed Tent

Wyoming Game and Fish had to kill a young grizzly after the bear kept hanging around campgrounds, displaying increasingly bold and aggressive behavior.

Mark HeinzJuly 25, 2023

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