ALBANY — The federal Department of the Interior has decided to take 13,000 acres of land belonging to the Oneida Indian Nation into federal trust.

In an announcement released late Tuesday, Interior said its decision "reflects the balance of the current and short-term needs of the nation to reestablish a sovereign homeland and the New York state and local government requests to establish a more contiguous and compact trust land grouping" than taking all 17,370 acres into trust, as the nation had originally requested.

Madison and Oneida counties had asked that Interior take only 1,026 acres into trust.

State Sen. Joseph A. Griffo, R-Rome, said Interior's decision disregards the will of the local populace.

"While I understand that this process is designed to further the welfare of Indian nations, the ruling is a setback for our region that must be challenged," Sen. Griffo said in a statement. "We cannot be a region divided for all time, and I call upon our federal officials and the Paterson administration to be the catalysts to create a full, fair negotiated agreement in the 30-day window we have before this bad decision becomes an even worse reality, or else our challenges will move ahead to be presented."

The lands in question comprise approximately 1.1 percent of the total acreage of Oneida County, and approximately 1 percent of the total acreage of Madison County.

Federal trust status removes the land from local jurisdiction and tax rolls, though federal laws and tax codes still apply, but the tribal government exercises primary jurisdiction over its trust land.

Lawyers for New York state, Madison and Oneida counties and the cities of Sherrill and Oneida all filed letters with Interior opposing the nation's application. Various private groups also have indicated opposition.

Opponents point out that much of the land in question is not in contiguous parcels, thus creating a "checkerboard" pattern they say would cause confusion. They also decry the loss of local tax revenue, though the nation does make payments, under its Silver Covenant program, to certain local governments and school districts that exceed the assessed value of the land in those areas.

Nothing in Tuesday's decision prohibits the nation from applying to put lands acquired in the future into trust. But Ray Halbritter, the Oneida Nation Representative, said the nation is willing to negotiate with the affected local governments, many of whom had threatened litigation even before Interior's decision.

"We are willing to negotiate a limit on the amount, and locations, of future trust land acquisitions, none of which is required by law," said Ray Halbritter, Nation Representative, in a statement issued late Tuesday afternoon. "The state and counties must offer good-faith compromises as well, rather than insist upon retaining the same positions they have held for more than a decade, if we expect to reach an understanding."

In April 2005, the Oneida Nation applied to Interior to take 17,370 acres of land it owns in Madison and Oneida counties into federal trust. This means the federal government takes title to the land, holding it for exclusive use by the Indian tribe.

The application came in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's March 2005 ruling in "City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York," which said the nation could not unilaterally reassert sovereignty over reacquired land within its land claim territory. Instead, the court instructed the nation to use the "proper avenue" to regain its sovereignty, the land-into-trust process.

The decision in Sherrill came after more than three decades of litigation by the Oneida Nation to regain land it asserts was taken by New York State, in violation of federal law, during the late 1700s and early 1800s.

The nation owns 17,370 acres of land in more than 300 parcels in the two counties. Its 32-acre reservation just south of the city of Oneida is the only plot of land not currently under state and local jurisdiction.

"In order to reach a resolution of our differences, which the Oneida people are committed to doing, leadership on both sides must bring people together," Mr. Halbritter continued. "Calls for continued rancor and ongoing expensive litigation have accomplished nothing to resolve these issues for our community but have made some lawyers wealthy on both sides."

Sen. Griffo called for federal intervention.

"This ruling is a regulatory barrier to the future, and I remain firm in my belief that the role of the federal government should be to broker a collaborative agreement that can supersede this decision and unite our region instead of dividing it up," the senator said.