California Department of Fish and Wildlife has been conducting spotlighting surveys for San Joaquin Kit Fox (Vulpes mactoris mutica) on the Carrizo Plain since 1970. In the year 2000, the survey was modified to capture data to estimate abundance using distance sampling, this past fall marks 25 years of this survey effort. This discussion will explore the history and evolution of the survey, abundance trends, explanatory covariates within DS models and the management implications from the survey effort and how current and emerging technologies may play a role in future population monitoring.