Officials decry toxic online debate on Tahoe forest snowmobile use

SIERRA CITY, Calif. — The debate over snowmobile access in the

Tahoe National Forest has turned ugly.

Emails, social media posts and online comments with foul and abusive language prompted Forest Service officials to disable a portion of an online comment system, the Reno Gazette-journal reported last week.

“It is discouraging because it is not promoting public discourse on the topic,” Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Eli Ilano said.

Supporters of the proposal pushing for more restrictions in the 1,250-square-mile area have been the targets of the online abuse, including anti-gay slurs, foul language and references to violence.

“It is not about having a dialogue; it is not about communicating,” said Gail Ferrell, vice president of outreach for the nonprofit advocacy group Snowlands. “It is just about attempting to demoralize us, which it does not do.”

Officials fear the hostility in the comments section might deter the public from sharing their input on the Tahoe National Forest Oversnow Vehicle Use Designation plan.

The proposed plan is more than a decade in the making and will define which parts of the forest are open to snowmobile riding decades into the future.

Snowmobile riders see the effort as a threat to future access.