The San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) (SJKF) is an endangered subspecies endemic to California’s San Joaquin Valley. Amidst a landscape dominated by agricultural development, the Kern National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) provides remnant alkali desert scrub habitat for the SJKF and other upland species. However, SJKF observations at the KNWR have significantly dwindled since the 1970s, potentially due to an influx of invasive vegetation. Through an intensive 3-year habitat restoration effort, we have removed 500 acres of invasive salt cedar across KNWR. Considering that salt cedar typically colonizes riparian areas, our study is the first to document salt cedar treatment within an upland ecosystem. Our objective was to commence a multi-year study of SJKF site use patterns across all potential SJKF habitat to assess their long-term response to invasive plant removal. We established paired camera arrays at 12 sites with varying proximity to treated salt cedar stands. We evaluated multiple local site characteristics potentially influencing SJKF movement, prey availability, and predation risk, including shrub density, grass height, proportion of bare ground, and kangaroo rat burrow density. Using multi-scale, single-season occupancy models, we aim to estimate SJKF local site use through predefined biological seasons. Our results may reveal how long it takes SJKF to respond to habitat recovery, and the extent to which invasive plant removal influences site use dynamics compared to other local characteristics.