In 1988, a study of federally endangered San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) was initiated to develop techniques for translocating kit foxes onto Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 (NPR-1) in California. Our objective is to review the translocation program and provide recommendations for future efforts. There were no problems trapping, translocating, and maintaining foxes in captivity. We released 12 foxes onto NPR-1 in 1989 and 28 foxes in 1990. Of the 12 foxes released in 1989, 10 died within 1 year. Of 28 foxes released in 1990, 1 was still alive, 24 were dead, and the fate of 3 was undetermined when the study was terminated on 30 April 1992. Annual survivorship of translocated foxes was 0.03, which was less than survivorship of free-ranging foxes (0.35). Survivorship was not influenced by year of release, sex or age of translocated animals, or terrain in which foxes were released. Predation was the main cause of death. Six foxes survived through 1 breeding season, and 3 of these 6 foxes survived through 2 breeding seasons. Four of the 6 foxes bred with free-ranging foxes. Excluding 1 fox that moved 124 km before being killed by a vehicle, the distance between the release site and the location of death averaged 9.9 km (SE 1.9) for 11 foxes released in 1989 and 4.4 km (SE 1.1) for 24 adults released in 1990. The distance between the release site and the location of death was less for foxes released from pens in hilly terrain (3.1 km, SE 1.7) than for foxes released in level terrain (5.6 km, SE 1.5). Declining prey availability may have negatively influenced survivorship. Survivorship also may have been low because foxes were not familiar with their environment, including food and cover locations. Installing artificial dens or other forms of escape cover may improve survival of translocated foxes. If mortality factors can be mitigated, we believe the likelihood that foxes can be successfully translocated is good. To increase survivorship and to reduce the length of time between the release date and pair-formation we recommend that foxes be released in fall.