CANNON BALL, N.D. (Reuters) - In North Dakota, winter is most definitely coming.
That does not deter Dakota Access Pipeline protesters, many of whom say they know a blizzard earlier this week was but a taste of what is to come, as temperatures are expected to fall toward 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18°C).Rather than retreat amidst the cold and an order from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to vacate by Monday, the Oceti Sakowin camp, the epicenter of pipeline opposition, is growing in size - and quickly winterizing in expectation of harsher weather.Dozens of insulated tipis have popped up in recent weeks, adding to those that have dotted these barren plains since last summer. Yurts, a round tent popular in the cold tundra of East Asia, have started appearing. Portable toilets are being swapped out for heated, composting commodes. Ice cleats, which strap onto boots to give stability on ice, are now in demand. Taylor Orpin, 23, quit her job to move to the camp last month. She spends her days collating donated coats by size and gender in a tent near the camp's main fire circle."I'm very aware of what true cold is going to feel like," said Orpin, a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba. "Here, people are able to come in and just take whatever they need to stay warm."Thousands of people, led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, are protesting the pipeline, which would carry crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois en route to the Gulf of Mexico. The route is adjacent to the Standing Rock reservation, and the tribe and climate activists say the line risks contamination of the tribe's water source and its construction has damaged, and would further damage, sacred sites.While clothing, food and money have been pouring in from all over the world, the camp's website requests more donations of wood, blankets, winter sleeping bags and propane to help weather the winter.A division of labor keeps many active, with campers volunteering in the four kitchens, shoveling snow, building tents and doing myriad other tasks.The multitudes at the camp defy the predictions of state and local officials, many of whom said out-of-state protesters would flee south like migrating birds. Children can be seen sliding playfully down nearby hills while senior citizens gossip over fire pits."It's a scare tactic, saying it's too cold to be here," said Gemma Akins, 36, a Reiki healer - a form of stress reduction - from Colorado. North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple issued an evacuation order for the camp earlier this week, citing the weather. That followed the Army Corps' earlier decree to vacate the camp, which is on federal land, by Monday. The state is not going to enforce that order, and voluntary compliance doesn't look likely. "I have zero experience with the cold," said Jess Weiner, 29, of Los Angeles, who arrived Thursday. "But I love the adrenaline of being here." DONATIONS AND SKILLS It's not clear how much money has been raised to build and sustain the camp since it was founded last spring, but estimates stand in the millions of dollars. The protests started attracting more attention in the late summer, particularly after clashes between activists and private security hired by Energy Transfer Partners