Kateri Ewing lives next to picturesque Knox Farm and has long admired it — so much

so that she admits she sneaked in to enjoy its beauty even before it officially opened as a

state park about eight years ago.

Ever since, she has been walking the park daily.

"I've lived here 23 years, and the cool thing is that for so long, it was this magical

fairyland behind castlelike walls. They were like our Kennedys," Ewing said of the Knox

family. The onetime owners of the Buffalo Sabres often held polo matches at their estate. "The

wonder of it when it was opened, ... it was like a key to inside the walls. To me, it's the

most spectacular piece of property."

The 633-acre park is so spectacular, she and other park enthusiasts foresee a tragedy if

Gov. David A. Paterson follows through on closing Knox Farm and 40 other parks across the

state — and reducing services at 23 others — to save $6.5 million. Some cuts would

take effect April 1.

Related: List of New York State parks slated to be closed

Ewing didn't waste any time fighting the plan. Just after the receiving word of the

threatened park closing, she began a grass-roots effort to fight it. With her daughter's help,

she created a Facebook page about the park's plight to rally support for it.

She also has started an online petition for supporters to sign as well as a sample letter

to pressure state lawmakers to stop the shutdown. By last week, the petition had garnered more

than 800 signatures, and 3,600 have joined the Facebook group, many posting comments and

photos of the park.

"I just knew that I couldn't do nothing," Ewing said. "It is a magical piece of land, with

woods, fields and a working farm. It's not like any other park I've been to."

The East Aurora Village Board and Aurora Town Board have prepared a joint resolution to

send to Albany to fight the closing. The Village Board passed the measure unanimously Monday

night, and the Town Board is expected to follow suit when it meets next week.

"This is a gem we do not want to see closed," Village Trustee Libby Weberg said.

Even though the state hasn't spent much on improvements at the park — and many of the

buildings, including the Knox mansion, require conversion to public buildings — many

nature enthusiasts and residents laud it for its tranquility, despite the need for maintenance

and repairs. Some, however, privately say that work constitutes a long list and would require

big dollars to complete.

"There is so much potential there," Ewing said. "It's so diverse — the woods, the

fields, the ponds. ... That mansion could be a retreat center."

Seymour Knox IV, who heads the Friends of Knox Farm State Park, a nonprofit group providing

a voice for promoting the park's resources, said his family was determined that the land be

kept out of developers' hands and gave the 1999 sale to the state careful consideration.

"We made a very conscious decision after my dad and uncle passed away to have it go into

very good hands," Knox said of the estate that had been in the family for more than 100 years.

"We thought we were doing the right thing and being good stewards."

"We want to try and be positive about the park," he said. "I think the state is trying to

do the best that it can. There are plans that are out there, and because of shortfalls, the

state has had to shift priorities. This is where the "Friends of Knox' group really comes into

play."