MILLERSYLVANIA STATE PARK – Dozens of state parks in Washington were on the endangered list this year as a result of the state’s budget woes. Now their fate rests in the hands of drivers who will decide whether it’s worth $5 to help keep them open.

Motorists who once had the option of donating to state parks when they registered their cars will now pay $5 automatically unless they pointedly subtract the money.

Whether enough people will let the donation stand could mean the difference between whether parks like Millersylvania State Park – with its camping sites, 3,300 feet of freshwater shoreline and hiking trails – stay open or are mothballed.

As she washed dishes at her campsite with the help of her 4-year-old daughter, Julie Peterson of Burien said she doesn’t want her family tradition of visiting the park every year to end.

“I know times are tight,” said Peterson, whose husband lost his job as a welder last October. “I would still pay $5 to keep the parks open.”

The state is banking on at least 50 percent of drivers to not opt-out of the extra cost, so that it can bring in an estimated $28 million through 2011 to keep parks like Millersylvania from being mothballed.

That expectation may be optimistic, since under the previous “opt-in” model, only 1.4 percent of people donated, with the state collecting just over $635,000 a year.

Washington’s new law – which takes effect with September renewals – is modeled on one that took effect in Montana in 2004. Michigan is considering a similar plan. Montana’s law is stricter, with drivers who want to opt out having to fill out a separate form that indicates they won’t use their vehicle to go to a state park. Washington’s law has no such requirement.

Chas Van Genderen, Montana state parks administrator, said that 80-85 percent of people in Montana pay the $4 fee, bringing in about $3.2 million a year to the state’s 54 parks.

“It’s been a well-embraced concept,” he said.

It’s not just state parks that are struggling. Earlier this month, King County officials announced plans to mothball 39 parks, locking bathrooms and gates and fencing playground equipment.