Frogs, Chickens, and

August 11, 2010

Fine Art
Why ENTICE needs
an overhaul

The Problem
Illinois’s dire fiscal situation continues to
worsen year after year, and to turn this bad
situation around it’s important to evaluate
existing programs to ensure they’re necessary
Spotlight on Spending
workshops.4 Topics of upcoming workshops
include “Incorporating Nature into Fine Arts,”
“Online Frogs and Toads,” and “The Greater
Prairie-chicken.”5

and effective. One such program that needs

evaluation is the Environment and Nature
Training Institute for Conservation Education
(ENTICE) workshops from the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
Created in 2000,1 ENTICE is “a teacher
training program” focused on natural resource
education.2 The ENTICE workshops are
meant to help teachers “enhanc[e] their natural
resources teaching skills through science-based,
hands-on, interdisciplinary instruction led by
natural resources professionals, correlated to
Illinois State Board of Education Learning
Standards.”3 Teachers can also earn Continuing
Professional Development Units through these
Starting January 1, 2006, “the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR)
Division of Education implemented a policy
requiring a registration fee per person per
workshop.”6 Fees for the workshops range
from $10 to $25.7 Taxpayer subsidies from
the General Revenue Fund also support the
program.8 There may be other aspects of the
ENTICE program outside of the educational
workshops, but these other aspects are not
described on the IDNR website nor were
IDNR officials forthcoming with details.
As Graphic 1 below illustrates, the number
of teachers completing ENTICE training has

Graphic 1: ENTICE Expenditures and Results

Fiscal Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Number of teachers
1,505 2,135 1,056 240 120 171
completing ENTICE training
Environment and Nature
Training Institute for
$260,300 $242,800 $247,200 $263,800 $202,300 $273,400*
Conservation Education
(ENTICE) Expenditures
Program expenditures per
$172.96 $113.72 $234.09 $1,099.17 $1,685.83 $1,598.83
teacher trained
*Estimated
Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Office of the Comptroller’s Public Accountability Report,
Fiscal Years 2007 and 2009, and the Illinois Budget Books

This is part 11 of the Illinois Policy Institute’s weekly Spotlight on Spending series, highlighting wasteful or inefficient
programs and spending with the goal of bringing more responsible spending and accountable government to Illinois. For
additional information on state spending, visit www.IllinoisOpenGov.org.
 Page 2 of 3

dropped 83 percent from 2005 to

2010, but state funding has increased
five percent in the same time frame. Graphic 2:
The program is continuing for fiscal ENTICE Expenditures and Teachers Trained
year 2011, but it is unclear where
the funding is coming from as the
governor’s proposed budget zeroed
out the program and the signed
state budget does not explicitly
appropriate funds.

The Solution
The waning popularity and increasing
marginal cost of the ENTICE
program are indicators that it is not
It’s important the best use of taxpayer dollars,
to re-evaluate especially during an ongoing fiscal
crisis. At a minimum, a substantial
programs overhaul of the ENTICE program is
necessary; the Illinois Department of
often to make Natural Resources should consider
certain that ending this program or have it be
completely funded by user fees. Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Office of the
they are Governor Quinn’s recommendation Comptroller’s Public Accountability Report, Fiscal Years 2007 and 2009,
and the Illinois Budget Books
to zero-out this program in the
relevant, Illinois State Budget for fiscal year
necessary, 2011 should be applauded.

and meeting Why This Works Graphic 3:

performance The status quo is difficult to
overcome, especially when it comes
ENTICE Expenditures Per Teacher Trained

standards. to funding programs. Because of

this it’s important to re-evaluate
programs often to make certain that
they are relevant, necessary, and
meeting performance standards. It’s
the duty of state officials to ensure
that taxpayers get the biggest bang
for their buck, and this can only be
achieved if programs are adjusted
based on their evaluations and ended
if they are ineffective.

Many of these cuts may be difficult,

but they are necessary. Inefficient
programs are siphoning money away
from core government services and
needlessly adding to the burden of
the taxpayers of Illinois. With billions
Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Office of the
of dollars in unpaid bills, low-priority Comptroller’s Public Accountability Report, Fiscal Years 2007 and 2009,
programs such as the IDNR’s and the Illinois Budget Books
ENTICE program should be among
the first programs to go.
 Page 3 of 3

Endnotes
1 Bowman, Dale. “Manning pushing environmental
education.” Chicago Sun-Times: May 24, 2000.

2 Illinois. Office of the Comptroller. “Environment

and Business Regulation.” http://www.apps.ioc.state.
il.us/ioc-pdf/PAP2001/2002PAP6.pdf

3 Illinois. Office of the Comptroller. “Public Ac-

countability Report, Fiscal Year 2009.” Springfield,
Illinois: page 276. http://www.apps.ioc.state.il.us/ioc-
pdf/PAR2009.pdf

4 Illinois. Department of Natural Resources. “Edu-

cation Workshop Information.” http://www.dnr.illi-
nois.gov/education/Pages/default.aspx

5 Illinois. Department of Natural Resources. “Edu-

cation Workshop Information.” http://www.dnr.illi-
nois.gov/education/Pages/default.aspx

6 Illinois. Department of Natural Resources. “Il-

linois ENTICE.” http://dnr.state.il.us/education/
entice/index.htm

7 Illinois. Department of Natural Resources. “Edu-

cation Workshop Information.” http://www.dnr.illi-
nois.gov/education/Pages/default.aspx

8 Illinois. Office of the Comptroller. “Illinois Ap-

propriations Fiscal Year 2009.” Springfield, Illinois:
page 221. http://www.apps.ioc.state.il.us/ioc-pdf/Ap-
propBookFY09.pdf