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her family for generations.
• "I hope it doesn't come to that," she said. "But it's our job, our duty, to take care of this land."
• Terry Frisch, a northern Nebraska rancher who owns land on the Ogallala Aquifer, has fought the project for four years. He said he has grown increasingly frustrated that the project, which he views as a threat to the state's groundwater supply. Frisch said some landowners in the desolate ranching country are so angry that some have talked about fighting back if they're moved by force.
• "I'm 65 years old, and I've already lived longer than I thought I was going to," Frisch said. "I'm not going to ask my kids. But me? I'm not afraid to stand in front of a bulldozer."
• Opponents are also looking to challenge the project in ways beyond physical protests, said Jane Kleeb, executive director of the anti-pipeline group Bold Nebraska. If the project wins approval, she said, many land owners are planning to challenge the company's eminent domain authority through the courts. She said any protests to block the pipeline will be peaceful.
• On the national front, activists are gathering signatures from Nebraska residents and others who are willing to risk arrest if the president allows the pipeline to proceed. Becky Bond, a San Francisco-based policy for CREDO Action, a cellphone company and progressive advocacy group, said 830 Nebraska residents have signed so far out of 59,000 people nationwide. In Nebraska, she said, the effort would likely include blocking construction crews.
• Project supporters argue that opponents are well-intended but misguided. TransCanada said the company voluntarily agreed to safeguards that exceed federal regulations. The project is backed by several unions that represent Iowa and Nebraska workers, and union leaders say they've enjoyed a good working relationship with the company.
• "There is no alternative to pipelines. There is no safer way," said Brigham McCown, a former administrator for the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration under the Bush administration. "I've looked at this project, and . . . I wish every pipeline in this country were built to this project's specifications."
• Environmental activists previously staged protests at the White House, in which they were arrested for handcuffing themselves to the front gate. A 79-year-old grandmother from suburban Oklahoma City was arrested earlier this month after she tied herself to an earth mover that was working on the pipeline's southern leg in Oklahoma.
• After months of quiet, a State Department report has cleared the way for a final

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