Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Ctr v. Rob MacWhorter

In this appeal, the Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (“KS Wild”) challenges the district court’s dismissal of its claim against the U.S. Forest Service for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court concluded that KS Wild’s notice of intent to sue under the Endangered Species Act was deficient. For the reasons that follow, we disagree.

I. Background

Under the citizen suit provision of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), a private citizen may bring suit to remedy a violation of the Act, provided that it gives written notice of the alleged violation or violations upon which the suit is based at least sixty days before suit is filed. 16 U.S.C. § 1540 (g)(2)(A)® (“No action may be commenced ... prior to sixty days after written notice of the violation has been given to the Secretary, and to any alleged violator....”). The sixty-day notice requirement is jurisdictional. Sw. Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Southwest Center), 143 F.3d 515 , 520 (9th Cir.1998). “A failure to strictly comply with the notice requirement acts as an absolute bar to bringing suit under the ESA.” Id.

This suit arises in the context of recreational suction…