Pacific Heartbeat

Island Cowgirls

By Liz Barney and Alison Week

ISLAND COWGIRLS highlights two Hawaiian cowgirls (paniolo) who have dedicated their lives to caring for their family ranches. On the northwest side of Hawai‘i island, as La‘I Bertlemann prepares to graduate from highschool, she must make a difficult decision whether to stay home in Hawai‘i and continue her family tradition of land stewardship or leave. Meanwhile, on the south side, Lani Cran Petrie is at a crossroads as she continues to plan for the future of her ranch while faced with the uncertainty of the state-held lease of the land expiring soon.