For the 15th year, Idea Wild is about to give you a chance to spend lots of money on beautiful things and not feel the least bit guilty about it.

The nonprofit group's annual benefit auction will be Saturday, May 17, at The Journey Museum. Last year's auction raised $31,000, which helped provide equipment and supplies for about 40 rainforest and wildlife conservation projects worldwide.

Since Idea Wild was founded in 1991, it has provided equipment such as binoculars, cameras and even camping gear to conservationists in Mexico, Central America, South America, the Philippines, Madagascar, Caribbean, West Africa and Southeast Asia.

The Oaxacan wood carving or Persian rug you buy at the May 17 auction could help with a bird-banding project in the Sumatra rainforest or an orangutan-monitoring program in Borneo; Wally Van Sickle III, a Rapid City native who founded Idea Wild, recently spoke to more than 200 conservation biologists in Borneo and Sumatra about the organization.

Van Sickle said biologists estimate there are 11,000 orangutans in the Malaysian part of Borneo. But parts of the forest where they live are being cut and burned in order to plant palms that produce palm oil, used for diverse products including food, cosmetics and biofuels.

"These palm oil plantations are just all over southeast Asia," Van Sickle said. "If you don't want to lose your rainforest, … palm oil's not the way to go for biofuels."

Borneo and Sumatra are also home to wild tigers, rhinoceros, flying foxes, pygmy elephants and other species.

Idea Wild has already provided cameras for the first Sumatran bird-banding program. The cameras are used to photograph all of the birds they catch, Van Sickle said.

This year's benefit auction will feature goods from throughout the world, including colorful wood carvings from Oaxaca, Peruvian knives, Vietnamese lacquerware, Persian rugs, Pakistani stoneware, drums, didgeridoos, a bonsai tree, Wild Idea buffalo meat, Asian silks, a hotel suite in Deadwood and a night safari in the Badlands.

Bat boxes, bird houses, gift certificates for local businesses and other goodies will also be auctioned.

Van Sickle hopes local supporters will bid generously, knowing their money is going to a good cause. He - and the orangutans - will thank you for it.

If you go

* "An Evening in the Rainforest," a free multivisual presentation by Idea Wild founder Wally Van Sickle III, starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 16, at The Journey Museum. Wild animals from Wildlife Experiences and live orchids will be on display.

* The 15th annual Idea Wild benefit auction will be Saturday, May 17, at The Journey, with the silent auction at 6 p.m. and live auction at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, which includes hors d'oeuvres, wine, food and $10 in merchandise.

* For more information or tickets, call 343-6060.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com