Will men and women in Gore-Tex raincoats and boots dig into their pockets and stick a few bucks in a metal box before hiking the Kettles trail or heading down to Libbey Beach?

How about families unleashing Fido or Princess at one of the dog parks on Whidbey Island? Will they pay?

Some Island County officials think they will and that such an honor-pay system could mean salvation for county parks.

County staff members and a consulting firm are in the process of creating a new parks plan, which will include a menu of ideas for funding the underfunded parks department. The department, which in under the public works umbrella, has had nearly two-thirds of its funding cut in three years.

Among the options being examined are charging fees for the use of parks; partnerships with concessionaires; leasing of land; use of lodging taxes for parks; or even establishment of deer-hunting clubs.

MIG, Inc., a Portland-based consulting firm, and employees in the county public works department are in the process of creating the Parks and Habitat Conservation Plan with the goal of “providing community-supported directions for managing and maintaining parks, recreation facilities, habitat areas and trails.”

Joantha Guthrie, project manager for the county, explained that one part of the plan — the operations and funding analysis — will focus on funding ideas. She said commissioners haven’t focused on any preferences, but a couple of ideas were shot down. The commissioners weren’t interested in making money by sustainably harvesting timber from county parks.

Also, an idea to create a new parks district and levy “isn’t considered viable at this time,” according to Guthrie. It might be a good fit for Camano Island, but it would have to start with a grassroots effort.

Public Works Director Bill Oakes said the county already has a somewhat-successful model for collecting fees. In July, county employees put in a collection box at a Camano boat ramp and started selling season passes to users. Under the fee structure, residents pay less than others. It works on an honor system, but raised about $12,500 in six months.

The current funding strategy for county parks doesn’t appear to be either stable or sustainable. Nearly two-thirds of the budget for the parks department has been cut in three years, from $366,000 in 2008 to $136,000 budgeted for 2011.

Island County owns 3,372 acres of parkland and habitat land; a total of 1,807 acres is strictly parkland. Island County allocated less than $108 per acre of parkland in 2010 to maintain the system. By comparison, Pierce County spent nearly $1,200 per acre for maintenance in 2008.

“While Pierce County is not an ideal comparison to Island County, it too is considered to be drastically underfunded as a county park system. Yet, Island County is not even close to providing a similar level of funding. For most county park systems, maintenance costs typically start at $3,000 per acre,” according to the operations and funding analysis for Island County parks.

At the same time, Island County residents have historically been very supportive of efforts to protect parks, open space, shoreline and natural habitat. This summer, the county did an online survey about parks and natural areas in the county. A total of 666 people participated. Also, the staff members held focus groups, “intercept events” and stakeholder interviews to gather community input.

Of those who answered the online questionnaires, 91 percent felt that conserving habitat and natural areas is important or very important. The respondents felt that the two most important benefits of parks and open space is enjoying nature and protecting the natural environment.

Even though the county already has more property than it can handle, 71 percent of the respondents said the county should acquire more parkland or habitat areas. Nearly 65 percent felt more trails are needed in the county.

County Commissioner Angie Homola said she was heartened by the results of the survey, which shows most residents are “pretty forward thinking” and want to preserve what they have.

“The majority of people in Island County place their priority on conservation,” she said.

But there’s a lot less consensus among residents when it comes to paying for upkeep of the parks. When asked about whether they were willing to pay a fee for park and facility use, 37 percent said yes, 39 percent said maybe and nearly 16 percent said no.

When given options to support parks, only 35 percent said they were in favor of a new park district with its own tax base; 22 percent said maybe.

The proposed Parks and Habitat Conservation Plan, which is still a work in progress, is an update of the Island County Parks and Recreation Element of the Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in 1998.

The county needs an updated plan in order to apply for grant funding. The work is being funded partly by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust.