ALBANY — A new forestry training center in the Adirondacks will help policy and decision makers from throughout the Northeast study and manage 25 million acres of forestland in New York and northern New England.

On Tuesday, officials announced the establishment of the Northern Forest Institute for Conservation Education and Leadership Training at the Masten House in Newcomb, Essex County.

The institute will focus on the educational and research needs of professional audiences — including state agency officials, business leaders and educators — as well as the general public, particularly college and secondary school students.

"This world-class educational facility will help (us) learn more about the forestry resources and challenges unique to our region, while also contributing significantly to local economies," said Alexander B. "Pete" Grannis, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "By supporting the growth of public and private higher education with this and other initiatives in the Adirondacks, Gov. Paterson, DEC, and our partners are supporting the economic and environmental future of Northern New York."

The "northern forest" extends from Lake Ontario to northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

The institute will be operated by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, on a 46-acre tract owned by the Open Space Institute and leased to the college on a long-term basis for $1 a year.

Empire State Development is making a $1 million grant to OSI support the institute, while DEC is giving $125,000 to SUNY-ESF. DEC also has committed $1.6 million over four years to ESF for research on visitor demand, experiences and impacts, along with a training program for DEC employees responsible for managing recreational visits to state forest preserve lands.

"Empire State Development is proud to support this project and its expansion of critical research and training related to the six-million-acre Adirondack Park and the entire northern forest area," said Kenneth A. Schoetz, ESD's acting upstate chairman. "This cutting-edge research facility establishes a gateway to the largest wilderness area in the contiguous United States and will serve as an economic catalyst, further protecting open space and the historic Masten House."

Other partners in the project are the Adirondack Park Agency, the town of Newcomb, the Adirondack Museum, the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks and the Association for Protection of the Adirondacks.

"This is an exciting collaboration for the Adirondacks," said state Sen. Elizabeth O'C. Little, R-Queensbury. "The environmental and economic benefits of this new institute are very encouraging and the incorporation and highlighting of the 100-year-old Masten House into this project is a great feature. I congratulate those who are working so hard to make this a reality and I look forward to seeing this continue to develop in the months and years ahead."