CANNON BALL, N.D. – The Latest on the closing of a protest encampment near the Dakota Access pipeline construction site in North Dakota (all times local):

11:20 a.m.

Police in full riot gear have entered a Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota where dozens of people remain in defiance of orders to leave.

Most protesters left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp on Army Corps of Engineers land in advance of spring flooding, but some refused to go.

More than 50 officers entered the camp from two directions shortly before midday Thursday, along with several law enforcement and military vehicles. A helicopter and airplane flew overhead.

Officers are beginning to check structures in the camp. Some protesters are outdoors, but away from the officers.

The movement began shortly after police said Corps officials had met with camp leaders. They didn’t divulge the outcome of the talks.

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11:05 a.m.

Riot police are massing outside a closed Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota where dozens of people remain.

Most protesters left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp on Army Corps of Engineers land in advance of spring flooding, but some are refusing to go.

More than 50 law enforcement and military vehicles are moving toward the camp. A helicopter is flying overhead and an airplane is circling the camp. Officers on the ground are in full armour and riot gear.

The movement began shortly after police said Corps officials had met with camp leaders. They didn’t divulge the outcome of the talks.

A small group of protesters briefly stood on the highway outside the camp earlier in the morning. They were gone when police began massing.

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10:10 a.m.

Authorities are prepared for the possibility that they might have to use force to remove remaining protesters from the now-closed Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota.

Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson says American Indian elders have told police there are people willing to resort to drastic measures to stay in the camp that was shut down Wednesday ahead of spring flooding. And he says authorities have monitored similar sentiments expressed on social media.

Iverson says authorities are prepared for a worst-case “SWAT scenario” should anyone who is armed barricade themselves in a structure in the camp. A SWAT vehicle is at the scene.

Several Sioux tribes maintain the pipeline will harm the environment, a claim the project developer disputes.

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9:15 a.m.

An American Indian activist who opposes the Dakota Access oil pipeline says the shutdown of the main protest camp in North Dakota isn’t the end of the fight.

Chase Iron Eyes says the battleground is shifting to the courts “and the court of public opinion.”

Authorities closed the camp Wednesday as spring flooding season nears. Most of the remaining people in camp left peacefully. Ten people were arrested.

Iron Eyes says the Lakota People’s Law Project non-profit is working to rally lawmakers and others in Washington, D.C., to oppose the pipeline. Tribes say it threatens their water supply and cultural sites.

Pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners says the project is safe.

Iron Eyes faces a felony charge for allegedly inciting a riot earlier this month near the camp. He maintains his innocence.

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9 a.m.

Authorities haven’t yet decided how to handle the remaining people at a Dakota Access pipeline protest camp in North Dakota that’s been shut down.

Most people left peacefully Wednesday when authorities closed the camp on federal land in advance of spring flooding. Gov. Doug Burgum estimates that as many as 50 people remain.

Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Iverson says the immediate goal is to clean up the camp that has existed since August and once housed thousands of people. Authorities say tons of debris must be removed so spring floodwaters don’t wash it into nearby rivers.

Iverson says a plan to remove the remaining protesters has “yet to be determined.”

Army Corps of Engineers Col. John Henderson says the taxpayer-funded cleanup could take about a month and cost as much as $1.2 million.

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8:15 a.m.

One of the Dakota Access pipeline opponents still at a camp on federal land that was closed by North Dakota authorities says the protesters are committed to staying.

Ed Higgins, from Lowell, Massachusetts, says Lakota elders will call for a meeting with law enforcement to state their belief that the camp is on land that rightfully belongs to Native Americans.

Authorities closed the camp Wednesday ahead of spring flooding, and most protesters left peacefully then.

Higgins says 200 people remain in large tents at the camp, and “haven’t come out to show our faces.”

Gov. Doug Burgum says only between 25 and 50 people remain. He has encouraged them to leave without the need for arrest, and says authorities are willing to talk with anyone.

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12:05 a.m.

Public officials in North Dakota are pleading with the remaining protesters at the Dakota Access oil pipeline camp to pack up and leave so authorities can resume cleaning up the premises without any further arrests.

Most of the campers marched out of the area ahead of a Wednesday deadline to get off the federal land, and authorities arrested 10 people who defied the order in a final show of dissent. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says none of the law enforcement officers left the main highway outside the camp.

Burgum says between 25 and 50 people are left at the camp. He says they will “have every opportunity” to leave without getting arrested.

The governor says the ongoing cleanup at the camp is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.