The yellow-blotched map turtle has been designated as a federally listed threatened species since 1991. This turtle's habitat is affected by pollution from paper factories along the Pascagoula River and by the practice of removing log snags, which the turtles use for basking and refuge.

Species such as this that live in a single restricted range are most vulnerable to changes to their environment and other threats to their populations, such as collection for the pet trade.