  Gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow observations have allowed us to significantly
constrain the engines producing these energetic explosions. Te redshift and
position information provided by these afterglows have already allowed us to
limit the progenitors of GRBs to only a few models. The afterglows may also
provide another observation that can place further constraints on the GRB
progenitor: measurements telling us about the environments surrounding GRBs.
Current analyses of GRB afterglows suggest that roughly half of long-duration
gamma-ray bursts occur in surroundings with density profiles that are uniform.
We study the constraints placed by this observation on both the classic
``collapsar'' massive star progenitor and its relative, the ``helium-merger''
progenitor. We study several aspects of wind mass-loss and find that our
modifications to the standard Wolf-Rayet mass-loss paradigm are not sufficient
to produce constant density profiles. Although this does not rule out the
standard ``collapsar'' progenitor, it does suggest a deficiency with this
model. We then focus on the He-merger models and find that such progenitors can
fit this particular constraint well. We show how detailed observations can not
only determine the correct progenitor for GRBs, but also allow us to study
binary evolution physics.
