Published 8:00 am Monday, April 27, 2026 The term “roadless area” has been in the news a lot recently due to the Trump administration’s efforts to repeal the popular Roadless Rule — the federal policy that protects roadless areas in National Forests from road construction, commercial logging and development. But if you are wondering where these roadless areas are, you are certainly not alone. Unlike wilderness areas or national parks, roadless areas generally aren’t labeled on maps, and you likely won’t come across a sign in the woods telling you that you are in one. Nonetheless, these places are all around us, and most people in central Oregon have likely set foot in one, even if they didn’t know it. The Roadless Rule covers 2 million acres of public lands in Oregon, and nearly 60 million nationwide. Locally, it includes places like Tumalo Mountain, Hosmer and Sparks lakes, the Newberry Crater and Lookout Mountain in the Ochocos.…