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
If Colorado River Option Dries Up, Cheyenne May Have To Look Elsewhere For 70% Of Its Water
As squabbles grow in the lower Colorado River Basin over the river’s shrinking supply, the repercussions could reverberate all the way to Cheyenne, which gets 70% of its water from the Colorado River Basin
Mark HeinzMarch 27, 2023
Keeping An Owl As A Pet Not A Good Idea, It’s About The Worst Pet You Could Ever Get — And It’s Illegal
Inspired to own a pet owl based on our story about the Game and Fish Department's rescued owl "Jupiter"? Don't be. Not only is owning an owl illegal, they would be about the worst pet you could ever own. Worse than a great white shark, in fact.
Mark HeinzMarch 27, 2023
Wyoming Highways Among The Deadliest In America, Study Shows
Wyoming is at or near the top of vehicle crash deaths in some grim categories, including number of deaths per 100,000 population and fatal single-vehicle wrecks, according to a highway safety advocacy group.
Mark HeinzMarch 25, 2023
Wyoming Game And Fish Tells Congress It’s Way Past Time To Delist The Grizzly
Wyoming Game and Fish Director Brian Nesvik on Thursday told a congressional committee that grizzly bear numbers were healthy enough in Wyoming and the Yellowstone region to be removed from the Endangered Species List in 2003, but have remained listed because of bureaucracy.
Mark HeinzMarch 25, 2023
‘Scooby Doo Had His Stomach Ripped Out’: Colorado Wolves Wreak Bloody Havoc, Boebert Says
With Colorado set to reintroduce wolves by the end of this year, Colorado firebrand Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert wants them removed from Endangered Species Act protection across the United States.
Mark HeinzMarch 24, 2023
For 20 Years, A Great Horned Owl Named Jupiter Has Called Lander Game And Fish Office Home
Jupiter is a great horned owl with acute vision problems which means he could never survive in the wild. But for more than 20 years he’s not only survived but thrived at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department office in Lander.
Mark HeinzMarch 24, 2023
Wyoming Watches As Navajo Nation Supreme Court Case Threatens To Blow Up Colorado River Compact
A longstanding conflict between the Navajo Nation, state of Arizona and the federal government over the nation’s water rights to the Colorado River is coming to head before the U.S. Supreme Court. How that might affect Wyoming remains uncertain.
Mark HeinzMarch 23, 2023
Mountain Lion Attacks Colorado Couple In Hot Tub; Their Screams Scared It Off
A mountain lion crept up on a Colorado couple soaking in their hot tub over the weekend and swatted the man in the head, inflicting scratch wounds – though the man later refused medical treatment.
Mark HeinzMarch 22, 2023
‘Worth Two Or Three Cowboys’: Owner, Neighbors Mourn Cisco, Cattle Dog Killed By Wolves
Cattle dogs are valuable working animals, and “Cisco” left a big hole in his owners’ hearts when he was killed by wolves from Colorado’s North Park wolf pack. They said he was worth "two or three cowboys."
Mark HeinzMarch 21, 2023
Bull Elk’s Struggle Against Starvation Brings Wyoming’s Winter Kill Into Focus
The struggle of wildlife during a brutal winter is hard to fathom when considering sheer numbers, but a Wyoming snowplow driver brought it into focus with the story of a single animal’s ordeal.
Mark HeinzMarch 21, 2023
Colorado’s North Park Pack Has Something In Common With Wyoming Wolves – Killing Dogs
Colorado’s North Park wolf pack, which has crossed into Wyoming at times, killed two dogs there within a day of each other earlier this month. Wreaking trouble among its neighbors isn’t new to the North Park pack. The wolves are blamed for killing 10 livestock animals a little more than a year ago.
Mark HeinzMarch 20, 2023
Half Of Antelope In Rawlins-Red Desert Could Die As Brutal Winter Hammers Wyoming Wildlife
This winter could prove especially deadly for Wyoming’s wildlife, particularly in the Rawlins-Red Desert region where half of the antelope are expected to die.
Mark HeinzMarch 20, 2023
Wolves In Minnesota Live Very Different Lives Compared To Wolves in Wyoming
A wolf seeking a fresh meal in the humid Minnesota darkness needs sharp ears and patience. Lots of patience. While wolf packs in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are going after elk and other big game, their cousins in Minnesota, at least during warmer months, frequently hunt or fish solo, grabbing whatever they can get.
Mark HeinzMarch 19, 2023
When Compassion Kills: There’s A Reason People Should Not Feed Wildlife, It Can Kill Them
While emergency elk feeding has been implemented in some parts of the Cowboy State, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department refuses to feed deer – and discourages others from doing it – because it can kill them.
Mark HeinzMarch 19, 2023
Massive Snowfall In Wyoming Bear Country Could Be Good For Hunters
Much of Wyoming’s mountainous bear county is buried in massive amounts of snow, and with even more expected before spring black bear hunting seasons open in May, things might seem grim for hunters. One bear hunter, however, says the snow could actually work in favor for the hunters.
Mark HeinzMarch 18, 2023
Citing Widespread Pushback, Credit Card Companies Back Off On Tracking Gun Sales – For Now
Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover announced this week they were going to "pause" implementation of tracking gun purchases because of widespread pushback against the measure.
Mark HeinzMarch 18, 2023
Colorado Plans To Give New Wolves A 60-Mile Buffer From Wyoming Border
In an attempt to keep wolves from crossing into Wyoming, where they can be shot on sight, Colorado plans to release the wolves a minimum of 60 miles from the northern border with Wyoming.
Mark HeinzMarch 17, 2023
Environmental Group Threatens Lawsuit To Stop Wyoming Hunters Killing Colorado Wolves
In a letter threatening a lawsuit, the Center For Biological Diversity wants the U.S. Forest Service to shut down the shooting of wolves that cross the border from Colorado into Wyoming.
Mark HeinzMarch 16, 2023
Grandpa Was Wrong: Wyoming Winters Weren’t Always Worse In His Day
If grandpa chides you for complaining about this winter and says back in his time there were blizzards every day and it was minus 30 for weeks at a time (yet he still walked to school; uphill, both ways), data does not back that up.
Mark HeinzMarch 16, 2023
Wyoming Gun Groups: New Biden Executive Order On Guns “Extremely Dangerous To Bill Of Rights”
President Joe Biden signed an executive order Tuesday calling for a broadening of background checks, but Wyoming gun rights advocates said the order is "extremely dangerous" and a threat to the Bill of Rights.
Mark HeinzMarch 14, 2023
Casper-Douglas Route Wants To Be First Link In 500 Miles Of Wyoming ‘Rail Trail’
One of the first pieces of Wyomings 500-plus-mile section of the proposed 3,700-mile Great American Rail Trail could be coming together soon near Casper.
Mark HeinzMarch 14, 2023