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| Deadline Nears for Dakota Pipeline Protesters to Leave | Deadline Nears for Dakota Pipeline Protesters to Leave |
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| CANNON BALL, N.D. — Activists protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline remained camped along the banks of the Missouri River here as a Wednesday afternoon deadline loomed for them to leave. | CANNON BALL, N.D. — Activists protesting the Dakota Access oil pipeline remained camped along the banks of the Missouri River here as a Wednesday afternoon deadline loomed for them to leave. |
| The protesters, who believe the almost completed 1,172-mile pipeline would imperil the drinking water supply on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, have called for a halt to construction and a full environmental review of the project for months. | The protesters, who believe the almost completed 1,172-mile pipeline would imperil the drinking water supply on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, have called for a halt to construction and a full environmental review of the project for months. |
| But pipeline construction resumed this month with President Trump’s backing, and the Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota’s governor have ordered that the largest protest camp — which sits on federal land — be cleared by 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday because of flooding concerns. | But pipeline construction resumed this month with President Trump’s backing, and the Army Corps of Engineers and North Dakota’s governor have ordered that the largest protest camp — which sits on federal land — be cleared by 2 p.m. local time on Wednesday because of flooding concerns. |
| “It’s time for protesters to either go home, or move to a legal site where they can peaceably continue their activities without risk of further harm to the environment,” the North Dakota attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, said in a statement. Officials said that the trash at the protest camps posed an ecological risk if it were washed downstream by any flooding and that urgent cleanup was needed because of that possibility. | “It’s time for protesters to either go home, or move to a legal site where they can peaceably continue their activities without risk of further harm to the environment,” the North Dakota attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, said in a statement. Officials said that the trash at the protest camps posed an ecological risk if it were washed downstream by any flooding and that urgent cleanup was needed because of that possibility. |
| Rain turned to large snowflakes in the somber hours before the deadline, which Gov. Doug Burgum set in an executive order he signed last week. Much of the camp appeared empty and calm Wednesday morning as law enforcement officials gathered nearby. | |
| One man used a four-wheeler to help get a car out of the deep mud, and another person rode a snowmobile through the dirt. Some semipermanent structures had been burned, apparently an effort to demolish them ahead of the deadline. A fire burned, black smoke rising in the cold air, while some people roamed the area. | One man used a four-wheeler to help get a car out of the deep mud, and another person rode a snowmobile through the dirt. Some semipermanent structures had been burned, apparently an effort to demolish them ahead of the deadline. A fire burned, black smoke rising in the cold air, while some people roamed the area. |
| Nick Cowan, 25, who has lived in the camp for more than two months, watched a dwelling burn nearby Wednesday morning. | |
| “It’s an act of defiance,” said Mr. Cowan, who said he did not set the fire. “It’s saying: ‘If you are going to make us leave our home, you cannot take our space. We’ll burn it to the ground and let the earth take it back before you take it from us.’” | |
| Mr. Cowan, a restaurant manager from Britain who had most recently been living in New Zealand, said he left his job and girlfriend to join the protests after seeing video footage of clashes with law enforcement. He said that he did not believe protesters should have to evacuate and did not know what he would do when the deadline to leave came. | Mr. Cowan, a restaurant manager from Britain who had most recently been living in New Zealand, said he left his job and girlfriend to join the protests after seeing video footage of clashes with law enforcement. He said that he did not believe protesters should have to evacuate and did not know what he would do when the deadline to leave came. |
| “The people are incredible,” said Mr. Cowan, who was wearing a jacket with an antipipeline logo. “This is a place unlike any other I’ve ever lived before. The lessons I’ve learned I’ll never forget.” | “The people are incredible,” said Mr. Cowan, who was wearing a jacket with an antipipeline logo. “This is a place unlike any other I’ve ever lived before. The lessons I’ve learned I’ll never forget.” |
| It was unclear how many of those still camped out would heed the evacuation order and how the authorities would respond to anyone who refused to leave. But Mike Nowatzki, a spokesman for Mr. Burgum, told The Associated Press that arrests were possible if people refused to leave. | It was unclear how many of those still camped out would heed the evacuation order and how the authorities would respond to anyone who refused to leave. But Mike Nowatzki, a spokesman for Mr. Burgum, told The Associated Press that arrests were possible if people refused to leave. |
| “Some of them are definitely going to stay,” Chase Iron Eyes, a well-known protester, said of other demonstrators Tuesday night. What will happen Wednesday afternoon, he said, is uncertain. | “Some of them are definitely going to stay,” Chase Iron Eyes, a well-known protester, said of other demonstrators Tuesday night. What will happen Wednesday afternoon, he said, is uncertain. |
| “Some people are going to stand in prayer,” he said. “Others may try to engage others in civil disobedience, but nobody’s armed and nobody’s going to aggress the cops or do anything that would cause harm.” | “Some people are going to stand in prayer,” he said. “Others may try to engage others in civil disobedience, but nobody’s armed and nobody’s going to aggress the cops or do anything that would cause harm.” |
| Mr. Iron Eyes, who is facing criminal charges for his actions during an earlier protest, said he planned to honor the Wednesday deadline. | Mr. Iron Eyes, who is facing criminal charges for his actions during an earlier protest, said he planned to honor the Wednesday deadline. |
| State officials have offered meals, lodging, a medical exam and a bus ticket to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states for protesters who leave by Wednesday afternoon and needed help getting home. | State officials have offered meals, lodging, a medical exam and a bus ticket to anywhere in the 48 contiguous states for protesters who leave by Wednesday afternoon and needed help getting home. |
| The protests started last year as a local affair, but the camps swelled to thousands in the summer and fall, with Native Americans and others from across the country gathering in spirited opposition and setting up a makeshift society in the camps, complete with cooking tents, supply areas and semipermanent structures. | The protests started last year as a local affair, but the camps swelled to thousands in the summer and fall, with Native Americans and others from across the country gathering in spirited opposition and setting up a makeshift society in the camps, complete with cooking tents, supply areas and semipermanent structures. |
| At times, demonstrators clashed with the police, leading to the activation of the North Dakota National Guard and hundreds of arrests. The police sometimes used tear gas and rubber bullets. Both sides have accused the other of escalating tensions and engaging in violence. The North Dakota National Guard said on Wednesday that it had spent more than $8 million responding to the protest since last August. | At times, demonstrators clashed with the police, leading to the activation of the North Dakota National Guard and hundreds of arrests. The police sometimes used tear gas and rubber bullets. Both sides have accused the other of escalating tensions and engaging in violence. The North Dakota National Guard said on Wednesday that it had spent more than $8 million responding to the protest since last August. |
| In recent weeks, the scene had calmed somewhat, as the number of demonstrators dwindled during the harsh winter. Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has sued seeking to block the pipeline construction, has urged protesters to go home. | In recent weeks, the scene had calmed somewhat, as the number of demonstrators dwindled during the harsh winter. Dave Archambault II, the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which has sued seeking to block the pipeline construction, has urged protesters to go home. |
| The tribe seemed to score a victory when, in the waning weeks of President Obama’s tenure, the Army Corps announced that it would undertake a full environmental impact study before allowing the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, the Missouri River reservoir near the protesters’ encampment. | The tribe seemed to score a victory when, in the waning weeks of President Obama’s tenure, the Army Corps announced that it would undertake a full environmental impact study before allowing the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe, the Missouri River reservoir near the protesters’ encampment. |
| But Mr. Trump instructed the Army to drop that study, and construction resumed. Barring court intervention, oil from the Bakken fields in western North Dakota could be flowing by this spring through the pipeline to its end point in Illinois. | But Mr. Trump instructed the Army to drop that study, and construction resumed. Barring court intervention, oil from the Bakken fields in western North Dakota could be flowing by this spring through the pipeline to its end point in Illinois. |
| Protesters, Mr. Iron Eyes said, were “feeling a bit of despair, but it’s not overwhelming.” | Protesters, Mr. Iron Eyes said, were “feeling a bit of despair, but it’s not overwhelming.” |
| “They know what they’re here for,” he said. | “They know what they’re here for,” he said. |