Although some aspects of terrapin ecology are well-known in at least some parts of the range, many areas remain poorly studied. One of the major threats to populations of terrapins appears to be incidental killing by crab trapping. Strong efforts should be made to reduce incidental killing in crab traps by the use of newly-developed excluder devices. In addition, efforts should be made to determine the extent of mortality in crab traps by determining the number of operational traps in optimal habitats of terrapins, and extrapolating from known mortality rates. In addition, better data are needed on these mortality rates from other portions of the range.
Habitat loss continues to be a major concern.
Loss of habitat for both nesting and feeding areas should be estimated via Geographic Information System modeling. Other potential threats include incidental kills by motor boats, road mortality of nesting females and predation on adults by raccoons. These threats require additional study.