The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota • 29

Bismarcktribune.com Bismarck Tribune Sunday, March 16, 2008 Page 11C Dakota Wildlife inspector has seen some strange From crocodiles to gall bladders, Peltier had unique experiences on things the border ings commonly are sold in Alaska and Canada. Sometimes they are very small items that are irresistible to unsuspecting tourists. "There's plenty of curio shops that sells figurines made of walrus items," Peltier said. "You can't bring those things into the United States. You'll have to abandon them at the border." The problems facing international agencies and wildlife can be found on various shelves and cases in a locked evidence room at the Dunseith border crossing.

The room includes sever -It V'-s i Jvt JL 1 i a mMf. f-. Associated Press Scott Peltier, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife inspector, displays on March 6 one of several whale baleens that were discovered during a border crossing check near Dunseith. A baleen is a fringed plate from the upper jaw of several types of whales and is used to strain creel from ocean waters.

Anything made out of whale parts is prohibited from entering the United States. DUNSEITH (AP) Can you tell the difference between a carving made from a mastodon tusk and one made from the tusk of an African elephant? Have you got an urge to pull live crocodiles out from under the back seat of vehicles? How about pulling off someone's shoes before letting them enter the United States or sticking your hand into a bucket of gall bladders? Such episodes are all in a day's work for Scott Peltier, a wildlife inspector for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. His primary station is at the border crossing located next to the International Peace Garden. Peltier has been conducting inspections along the United States-Canadian border for 14 interesting years.

"I remember when I started," he said. "As a former res ident or Dunseith, I just couldn't believe the things that were crossing this border." In his office at the border, Peltier has a large photo album jammed with pictures taken during his early days as a wildlife inspector. It contains page after page of photos of animals and animal parts discovered during inspections. One photograph is of Peltier sitting atop a small mountain of moose antlers just a portion of a shipment a man was attempting to bring into the United States. "At the time, the maximum allowed value was $25,000," Peltier said.

"The guy had documentation for just under that amount. However, when I searched his truck cab, I found receipts totaling over $96,000." Also included in the shipment was a huge entanglement of caribou and deer anders, enough to completely fill two, single-stall storage garages at the border. The man admitted his guilt and had to pay substantial fines in the United States and in Canada. Some illegal activity is not so easy to discover. Peltier once did a thorough inspection of cargo that would have been illegal without the proper permits and documentation.

When he asked about a specific permit, the to learn they were in violation of U.S. laws, and it had nothing to do with kilts or musical preference. "A lot of bagpipes have ivory ferrules on them," Peltier said. "I have refused border clearance to quite a few bagpipers, unfortunately, but they are not exempt from the law." It is the American appetite for many items, such as ivory carvings made from walrus or elephant tusk, that has led to laws prohibiting the import of such items. Some animals come under the protection of the Endangered Species Act or the Marine-Mammal Protection Act.

Others come under the protection of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, or "CITES." To date, CITES involves nearly 160 countries, making it a globally recognized enforcement tool. "Hybrid animals, such as bison or several kinds of zebras, are not covered by the Endangered Species Act but they are covered under CITES," Peltier said. Ivory or whalebone carv man pulled a wallet from his pocket and proudly produced the proper paperwork. However, Peltier recognized the unusual wallet as being made from elephant hide. Elephants and items made from elephant parts are protected under the African Elephant Conservation Act.

"I pulled him aside and we had a nice little talk," said Peltier with a grim smile. Before Peltier began inspections along the border, it was up to Customs agents to uncover the illegal importation of animals and animal parts. That was not something they had trained for, especially when it came to recognizing parts and pieces of thousands of different animals from around the world protected by a variety of laws. "There were no wildlife inspectors along the border 14 years ago. There were shipments coming and going through the border that should have been documented and others diat were probably in violation," Peltier said.

"U.S. Customs at that time didn't know much about Fish and Wildlife laws. -A Vi 'in -3 1 if. in I In one container, Peltier pulled out a cheetah pelt, a 25-foot long python skin, seal oil skin cream, pills made from elk antlers and several eagle feathers. The bottom of the container was covered with ivory carvings.

"Do you know what this is?" Peltier asked, holding up a pair of bracelets. "They are made from elephant tail hair." Many of the border inspections conducted by Peltier involve shows such as circuses that travel with many kinds of animals. It means paperwork, and plenty of it, but it's necessary ensure that wildlife is not bought or sold illegally. "I've pretty much seen them all," Peltier said. "We've had boxing kangaroos, wrestling bears, shark shows, traveling snake shows, African trophies, whitetail deer shows and all kinds of birds.

Every bird species has to be checked by Fish and Wildlife and by the Department of Agriculture." As for those bear gall bladders, he said, "I packaged them back up and did a controlled delivery on that one. I'm sure one of our guys went knocking on somebody's door, probably dressed like a delivery guy." Since the Fish and Wildlife Service has had a permanent presence along the border, the number of illegal wildlife-related items coming across has been reduced dramatically. Many people are becoming more aware of die plight of various species around the world. "Some people get pretty upset with us, but when they come to understand why we are actually doing a number of things, they settle down pretty well," Peltier said. "We are looking after the wildlife." by Tom Moe RPh.

Vitamin An mportant Antioxidant Vitamin is a fat-soluble vitamin. It has important antioxidant properties. There are several forms of vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol is the most active form in humans. It protects the body's cells from the actions of free radicals (oxidants), which are the waste products of energy metabolism.

Free radicals can damage body cells through oxidation and increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. It has been theorized that vitamin may reduce the incidence of heart disease and cancer through its antioxidant effects. Studies evaluating the effect of vitamin supplementation have been contradictory. More studies are needed to fully evaluate the ability of vitamin to reduce heart disease and cancer. Foods that contain vitamin are nuts, oils, green leafy vegetables and fortified cereals.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin is 22.5 1U (international units) per day for men and women 14 years of age and older. Little information is known regarding excessive supplementation with vitamin However, due to the potential for blood thinning activity, following the RDA for vitamin is recommended. 1929 N.Washington 258-1412 Medicare Assignments Welcome and Sat. 10-4 al whale baleens, 8 to 10 feet in length. Baleens are fringed plates from the upper jaw of several species of creel-eating whales, including the endangered bullhead whale that can tip the scales at 60 tons.

"We not only have to know the laws, but species identification as well," Peltier said while holding up an ivory carving. Oddly enough, a carving made from the tusk of an extinct mastodon, or woolly mammoth, is not illegal to own because woolly mammoths are not covered by current wildlife laws. Peltier has learned to tell the difference between mammoth ivory and elephant ivory. If there is any doubt, he sends the item to a special Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory for positive identification. "These were on the dash-board of a motor home coming across the border," said Peltier, holding up a pair of skulls.

"That made them pretty easy to find." One of the skulls was from a crocodile and the other from an alligator. Trafficking in reptiles and reptile skins is big business. "We get them all," Peltier said. "From cobra belts and boots to black mambas, pit vipers and rattiesnakes." More than one person attempting to cross the border has been a little startled when an agent pulls the boots off their feet or shoes out of their suitcase. If the footwear is made of anything reptilian, it is illegal.

"People need to know, and usually do know, what they are buying," Peltier said. "If it's anything made from an animal, don't buy it." America SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge roller coaster; the Avatar Airbender, a half-pipe track that brings riders close to the atrium glass covering the theme park; or the Splat-O-Sphere, a 60-foot tower that takes riders up, then drops them. Other attractions are aimed at younger children, such as Blue's Skidoo which uses cartoon dogs from the show "Blue's Clues" as airplanes. There's also "Pineapple Poppers," a giant orange pineapple modeled after SpongeBob's home where kids can bounce. SpongeBob, Dora and other Nickelodeon characters will mingle with visi-' tors.

The new park is more expensive, with an all-day ride wristband rising to $29.99 from $25. Days before the grand opening, families strolled among the rides as workers put the final gloss on Nickelodeon Universe (the park remained open during construction except for some brand-new rides being tested). "It's exciting," said Katy Lorusso of Eau Claire, who was there with her three children. "It's relevant to them because that's what they're into right now. They've been looking around and saying 'oh, Backyardigans' and 'oh, Wonder Her 7-year-old daughter, Maddy, rode the Backyardigans Swing-Along and declared it her favorite.

"Pretty fun," she said. to They had so many other laws to enforce." A big part of Peltier's job has been to assist Customs agents, helping train them on what to look for in the trafficking of wildlife and wildlife parts that come across the international border. Today, Customs plays a much bigger role when it comes to wildlife related inspections. Hunters and fishermen cross the United States-Canadian border in large numbers, often returning with trophy mounts, migratory birds or fish. If the paperwork is in order, inspection at the border can go smoothly.

"Certain species are required to be inspected. Others are done randomly," Peltier said. "For most of the border-crossing stuff, people need to file a Form 3-1 77. It's a declaration for importation or exportation of fish and wildlife anglers not necessarily, but hunters are required to file a 3-177. A lot of people are not aware of all the regulations." Peltier tells of reluctantly turning away traveling bagpipers who were surprised 7" ptw 5.

Associated Press Nick Universe takes over at Mall of the mall's opening in 1992, until an agreement couldn't be reached to extend its run. For the past two years, the mall kept generic amusement rides going as "The Park at MOA." Just over a year ago, Nickelodeon was announced as the new theme park tenant. Charlie Brown, Lucy and the other Peanuts characters are "a wonderful brand, but they're slightly more nostalgic," Bausch said. "It was hard for us to see it go, but we also knew that the children could relate to a new brand, also," she said. C.

Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, said Nickelodeon's characters are "a distant second place" to Disney's, but they include popular characters such as Dora the Explorer. Beemer said the megamall with its 520 shops and 40 million annual visitors gives Nickelodeon a ready audience to introduce new characters. The overhauled seven-acre theme park now features new, edgier rides aimed at drawing older children and teenagers. There are no age restrictions on the thrill rides only a height requirement of 48 inches. "If you're a second-grader and you are 48 inches and you're gutsy, you can go on it," Bausch said.

Some of the former rides were retooled, while five new ones were added to bring the total number of rides to 24. Visitors can take the twisting SpongeBob By JEFF BAENEN Associated Press Writer BLOOMINGTON, Minn. So long, Charlie Brown. SpongeBob is taking over. The Mall of America's indoor amusement park, seven sprawling acres of rides, games and assorted fun once ruled by the Peanuts gang, is now the domain of Nickelodeon Universe.

After a $25 million makeover, SpongeBob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey now greet visitors to the park, which had its grand opening Saturday with appearances by Ashlee Simpson and an assortment of the popular cable network's stars. The debut gives Nickelodeon its first standalone theme park as it expands its brand. For the megamall, the new tenant fills a void left by Snoopy's departure two years ago with attractions drat promise to pull in more older children and teenagers. The mall considered "almost every brand out there" before choosing Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom spokeswoman Maureen Hooley Bausch said. "They're the No.

1 brand with children," Bausch said. Nickelodeon, which also is expanding into cruises in August and developing a lodging resort brand with Marriott International has had Nick-branded zones in theme parks before but i -J 1 X't J. it I fcjA I Visitors fill the park on Saturday at the grand opening of the Nickelodeon Universe, the new amusement park at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. "Kids tell us going to a theme park with their family is one of the most memorable experiences that they can have." Camp Snoopy operated in the center of the Mall of America for 13 years, from never a full park, said Howard Smith, Nick's executive vice president of recreation. "We really wanted to create a place where kids and families could come out and play together," Smith said..