  We report the first detection of the 205 um 3P1 - 3P0 [NII] line from a
ground-based observatory using a direct detection spectrometer. The line was
detected from the Carina star formation region using the South Pole Imaging
Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) on the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and
Remote Observatory (AST/RO) at South Pole. The [NII] 205 um line strength
indicates a low-density (n ~ 32 cm^-3 ionized medium, similar to the
low-density ionized halo reported previously in its [OIII] 52 and 88 um line
emission. When compared with the ISO [CII] observations of this region, we find
that ~27% of the [CII] line emission arises from this low-density ionized gas,
but the large majority ~ 73% of the observed [CII] line emission arises from
the neutral interstellar medium. This result supports and underpins prior
conclusions that most of the observed [CII] 158 um line emission from Galactic
and extragalactic sources arises from the warm, dense photodissociated surfaces
of molecular clouds. The detection of the [NII] line demonstrates the utility
of Antarctic sites for THz spectroscopy.
