This species inhabits mixed deciduous forests in the Allegheny Plateau and Cumberland Plateau, to coniferous forests at high elevations in the Allegheny Mountains. Individuals are often found under logs, rocks, and leaves. At lower elevations it can also be found in the twilight zone of caves (Green et al. 2014). Eggs are laid in damp logs, moss, cave crevices, and other protected sites. It breeds by direct development.

This species can be found in the Appalachian Plateau of the eastern USA from southwestern New York to western Virginia and the southern border of West Virginia (Petranka 1998, Kuchta et al. 2018, Felix et al. 2019). It is also known to occur in Garrett County, Maryland (D. Beamer and T. Pierson pers. comm. June 2021). Its elevational range reaches up from 200 to 1,500 m asl (Raffaëlli 2007). Records of this species in southern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina have been reassigned to Plethodon dixi and P. jacksoni; and the records from the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee and Kentucky, and those from southern West Virginia have been assigned to P. paulyei (Kuchta et al. 2018, Felix et al. 2019). This species is thought to be extirpated from Ohio, as the last sighting was in the 1930s (Green et al. 2014).

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species occurs in several protected areas.

In an effort to prevent the introduction of Bsal into the US, an Interim Rule of the Lacey Act has been enacted that bans the importation of 201 species of salamanders (USFWS 2016). Additionally, a temporary voluntary trade moratorium of imports of Asian salamander species that are known to carry the disease until such time as effective testing and treatment regimens can be developed and distributed has been recommended to all exporters, shippers, sellers and buyers by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). A North America Bsal Task Force has also been created, with working groups designed to address a variety of disease prevention and mitigation goals (North America Bsal Task Force 2021).