BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The front lines of the battle against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline are shifting away from the dwindling encampment in North Dakota.

Main opposing groups asked for activism to be spread around the U.S., a call heeded when a banner was unfurled during an NFL game on New Year’s Day and when there was a demonstration at the Rose Parade in California.

Meanwhile, the camp’s population is down to a few hundred.

Indigenous Environmental Network organizer Dallas Goldtooth says opposition groups are seeing their request for broader activism materialize.

It’s a strategy sociology professors say is advantageous and possibly allows for innovative ways to draw attention to the issue.

Opponents believe the four-state pipeline threatens drinking water and Native American cultural sites, which Texas-based developer Energy Transfer Partners denies.

First Published: January 11, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
Updated: January 11, 2017, 4:28 p.m.