

"To be honest, no one around here wants to say anything because we're afraid they will come and threaten us," he said. "I'll say this, every rancher around here is packing and people are locking their doors — and no one has ever locked a door in their entire life."



Republican state Rep. James Schmidt, who also farms and ranches nearby, said he and his neighbors are more cautious.



"I'm starting to see a lot more guns in the back of pickup trucks. All it is going to take is one incident and emotions are going to overtake the situation," he said.



Complicating the issue is a grazing lease on that land. The renter, David Meyer, is responsible for the condition of the land. He could enforce his lease and have people removed, Williamson said, but hasn't requested any intervention. Meyer recently sold part of his historic Cannonball Ranch to Energy Transfer Partners for an undisclosed price; he hasn't returned telephone calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.



The Standing Rock Sioux has challenged the Army Corps of Engineers' decision to grant permits for the pipeline that is intended to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois. Due to a federal court decision, construction has stopped within 20 miles on either side of Lake Oahe, a Missouri River reservoir that is near the encampment. The Departments of Justice, Army and Interior also has said it will "reconsider any of its previous decisions" on land that borders or is under the lake.



Hall, a member of South Dakota's Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said the Sioux "never ceded" the land on which they're camping. He said they are preparing to stay through the winter by stockpiling firewood, heating stoves and warmer clothes. But there'll be no permanent structures built, Hall said.



"We will leave this camp as we found it," he said.



Associated Press