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

For A Brief Time In 1940, Monkeys Were Loose In Yellowstone

Yellowstone has always had a diversity of wildlife within its borders. Back in 1940, monkeys were briefly a part of the ecosystem.

Mark HeinzAugust 26, 2023

This dog, named Ruby, was tossed in the air and gored by a mountain goat in the Mount Timpanogos wilderness area in Utah in 2021. Three dogs were recently killed by mountain goats there.

Mountain Goats Are Killing Dogs On Crowded Utah Hiking Trails

Popular hiking trails near Orem, Utah, have gotten so crowded, mountain goats there aren’t afraid of people anymore, and have started killing hiker’s dogs, including three in the last three weeks.

Mark HeinzAugust 24, 2023

Wyoming’s beloved Grizzly 399, her cub of the year, Spirit in August 2023.

Grizzly 399 And Her ‘Absolutely Gigantic’ Cub Appear Again After Monthlong Absence

Wyoming’s most famous wild critters, Grizzly 399 and her "absolutely gigantic" cub Spirit, which has had a growth spurt, appeared this week for the first time in about a month, gorging on abundant forage in Teton National Park.

Mark HeinzAugust 23, 2023

Monster Bucks: Wet Summer Boosts Wyoming Big Game Antler Growth

Big game herds in some of Wyoming’s premier hunting areas suffered devastating winterkill losses, but the good news is, there could be some monster bucks lurking among the survivors.

Mark HeinzAugust 23, 2023

The King is a distinctive, and huge, Wyoming mule deer that's usually evasive during summers and fall. It's not known if he survived this past winter, which was brutal for big game winterkill.

Did Wyoming’s Rock Star Deer ‘The King’ Survive Winter? Nobody Knows

A huge Wyoming mule deer buck, called “The King” by his fans has garnered a huge social media following over the past few years. But it’s not known whether he survived this winter’s massive die-offs.

Mark HeinzAugust 22, 2023

Michael Frederick is a disabled Army vet from Minnesota who will get to hunt for Wyoming elk in the upcoming rifle season thanks to a donated tag.

Disabled Vet Gets Wyoming Elk Hunt Through Donated Tag

A disabled veteran from Minnesota can live his dream of hunting elk in the Cowboy State, because somebody from Wyoming anonymously donated their elk tag.

Mark HeinzAugust 22, 2023

Kelli Docker of Laramie said she felt overwhelming emotions, such as sadness and gratitude, after shooting a cow elk during her first-ever hunting trip.

First-Time Hunters Help Cull Overpopulated Elk In Black Hills

Some Wyoming outfitters, the state Game and Fish and landowners have teamed up to give first-time hunters an opportunity at elk, while also culling an over-abundance of elk in the Black Hills area

Mark HeinzAugust 21, 2023

Outdoors and wildlife photographer Dave Bell of Pinedale took these photos of three grizzly bears gorging on a cattle carcass along the Chief Joseph Highway north of Cody.

Wyoming Wildlife Photographer Stumbles On To Three Grizzlies Feasting On Carcass

Wyoming wildlife photographer Dave Bell struck gold when he happened upon four grizzlies along the Chief Joseph Highway north of Cody, three of which were feasting on a cattle carcass in a mud bog.

Mark HeinzAugust 21, 2023

A European mount covered in leather make a Western Wyoming statement on this barbed-wire wrapped post.

Hunting Wyoming: Sierra Mortimer, Perfecting The Art Of European Skull Mounts

Preparing “European Mounts,” or just the skull and antlers or horns from cattle or big game, isn’t nearly as simple as people might think. Converse County's Sierra Mortimer has made a business of it.

Mark HeinzAugust 20, 2023

Karelian Bear Dogs can be trained to “shepherd” bears away from potential trouble spots, such as campgrounds.

Karelian Bear Dogs Help ‘Train’ Grizzlies To Stay Out Of Trouble

With the help of Karelian bear dogs, Carrie Hunt has been training grizzlies to stay out of trouble for nearly 30 years. As a bear biologist, Hunt says she has a profound respect for bears and doesn’t want to see them come to bad ends.

Mark HeinzAugust 19, 2023

Wyoming is working on projects, most notably wildlife crossings, that could reduce the number of roadkill incidents on highway around the state, which ranks eighth in the nation in that statistic.

Despite Having Fewest People, Wyoming Piles Up 8th Most Roadkill

Wyoming may have the fewest people of all 50 states, but when it comes to roadkill, Wyoming ranks No. 8 overall, behind northern neighbor Montana at No. 2.

Mark HeinzAugust 18, 2023

Massive Winterkill Is Impacting Wyoming Antelope Hunts

Massive winterkill prompted Wyoming Game and Fish to cut thousands of hunting tags, and some regular hunters say they’ll forego this season to help decimated herds recover.

Mark HeinzAugust 18, 2023

Other Authors

There is General consensus over preserving the Greater Little Mountain area in Sweetwater County, although a draft plan for managing other federal lands around it was slammed by Wyoming elected officials.

Wyoming Blasts BLM Over Plan To Limit Uses For 1.8 Million Acres

Gov. Mark Gordon and other Wyoming elected officials are blasting a draft BLM land management plan to limit uses on 1.8 million acres for environmental protection.

Mark HeinzAugust 17, 2023

Yellowstone Grizzly Death Count Hits 24, Including 20-Year-Old Shot Last Week

A 20-year-old grizzly killed in Montana last week for preying on cattle is the 24th grizzly to die so far this year in the Greater Yellowstone area. Six have been killed in Wyoming for livestock depredation.

Mark HeinzAugust 17, 2023

Anglers Warned Yellowstone River Fish May Be Poisoned From Train Crash

A train crash that dumped molten sulfur and asphalt into the Yellowstone River North of Yellowstone Park might have poisoned fish, and officials are warning anglers not to eat their catches from the river.

Mark HeinzAugust 16, 2023

This man photographed chasing wolves in Wyoming’s Lamar Valley could be the same man filmed jumping out his vehicle to charge at black bears by the roadside

Yellowstone Photographer Believes Shirtless Bear Chaser Started By Chasing Wolves

The mystery of an unidentified man caught on video harassing black bears has deepened – photos have surfaced of what could be the same shirtless man chasing wolves in Yellowstone

Mark HeinzAugust 16, 2023

Anti-Hunters Appointed To Colorado Wildlife Commission Could Be A Warning For Wyoming

A former Wyoming Game and Fish commissioner says Wyoming doesn't need to worry about anti-hunters infiltrating its wildlife commission now, but is concerned with "up-and-coming wildlife biologists" because of the bias they are taught in the university system.

Mark HeinzAugust 15, 2023

Kenny Lankford of Albany, left, won the National NRA Match Rifle Championship at Camp Atterbury, Indiana in July. He’s pictured with Armanda Elsenboss, winner of the 2023 National NRA Service Rifle Championship and Overall Championship.

Wyoming Man Wins Prestigious National Rifle Association Rifle Championship

Now in his 70s, Kenny Lankford, of Albany, Wyoming proved he hasn't lost a step. In July, he hopped into his 1948 Willys Jeep station wagon and drove to Indiana where he won this year’s NRA Match Rifle Championship.

Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2023

A young male black bear on to the porch of Roseanne and Kim Gentry’s home in Big Horn on the afternoon of June 20, and was later killed by game and fish wardens.

Bear Breaks Into 82-Year-Old Woman’s House In Colorado, Woman Comes Out Victorious

A black bear broke into an 82-year-old woman’s home near Trinidad, Colorado, late Friday and the two got into a shoving match before the bear gave up and ran away. It was the fourth bear attack reported this year in Colorado.

Mark HeinzAugust 14, 2023

Infinite Outdoors CEO Sam Seeton with huge 5x5 archery bull

‘High-Tech Rednecks’ Offer Access To Private Land For Hunting Thru Digital App

Casper-based Infinite Outdoors say they want to change the way people hunt in Wyoming by getting them on exclusive private properties at rates average folks can afford. They say their approach will help keep hunting from becoming a "rich man's pastime."

Mark HeinzAugust 13, 2023

Wyoming Has Too Many Elk, And Nobody’s Sure What To Do About It

There are way too many elk, particularly in eastern and northeastern Wyoming, and lawmakers, ranchers, hunters and the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish are in a quandary over how to handle it.

Mark HeinzAugust 11, 2023

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