Happy Monday friends! My auto-post saying I would be away seems to have failed (oops!), but thank you all for filling in!

The government will let Standing Rock protesters continue to demonstrate

U.S. authorities said on Sunday they had no plans to forcibly remove activists protesting plans to run an oil pipeline beneath a lake near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota, despite telling them to leave by early December.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the federal land where the main camp protesting the Dakota Access pipeline is located, said last week it would close public access to the area north of the Cannonball River on Dec. 5

On Sunday, the agency said in a statement that it had “no plans for forcible removal” of protesters. The statement said anyone who remained would be considered unauthorized and could be subject to various citations. It also said emergency services might not be adequately provided to the area.

“The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking a peaceful and orderly transition to a safer location,” the statement said. “This will reduce the risk of harm to people in the encampments caused (by) the harsh North Dakota winter conditions.”

A representative for the agency could not be immediately reached on Sunday to provide further clarification on its plans.

Organizers told a news conference on Saturday at the main protest site where about 5,000 people are camped that they had no intention of moving.