This terrestrial species is found at the interface between the leaf or leaf-mold layer and the underlying soil in the vicinity of seepages and small streams in heavily shaded hardwood or mixed forests (Green et al. 2014). Females usually oviposit beneath clumps of moss or other objects within or near seepages or in the vicinity of small streams. Development is direct, so there are no aquatic larvae. This species is largely nocturnal, and typically remain under surface cover. However, some individuals have been observed climbing on grasses and bushes in central Alabama (Green et al. 2014). This species is not thought to be very adaptable to habitat degradation.

This species occurs in relatively isolated, localized populations in the Blue Ridge and adjacent Piedmont region of southwestern North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, southeastern Tennessee, northern Georgia, and north central Alabama, USA. In Tennessee and South Carolina, this species range is limited to only a few counties (Graham et al. 2012). In Alabama, an apparent hiatus exists between western populations in the Fall Line Hills region and eastern populations in the Blue Ridge and adjacent piedmont regions, and an apparently disjunct population is also present in the piedmont of northeastern Georgia (Harrison 1992, Livingston et al. 1995, Green et al. 2014). Graham et al. (2012) found that this species is more widespread in the Piedmont region of Georgia than was previously assumed. This species occurs at up to 210-1,340 m asl in the east, and as low as 30 m asl in west central Alabama. A previous record from Transylvania County, North Carolina is based on a misidentified Desmognathus wrighti and has therefore been excluded from this species' range map.

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species does occur in several protected areas. This species is considered Imperiled due to its rarity in Alabama and in North Carolina it is considered Significantly Rare. It is regarded as a Species of in Need of Management in Tennessee. In Georgia, this species has no legal status (Green et al. 2014). 

Conservation Needed
It is recommended that forest buffers be left around seepages and headwater streams in areas scheduled for logging (Petranka 1998).

Research Needed
Further research on this species' distribution, population size and trends is recommended, particularly in the regions where it believed to be in decline.