Punctelia caseana is widespread and abundant throughout the eastern United States, southern Canada, and Mexico. There has been no record of a population decline. Therefore, assessing this species as Least Concern (LC) is recommended.

Punctelia caseana occurs in predominately temperate forests in central and eastern North America. It can be found in Canadian and American regions of the Great Lakes Basin with some northern outliers. It is also found in the eastern United States and the montane forests of central Mexico and the central United States (Colorado, New Mexico, and Oklahoma).

P. caseana occurs abundantly in the forests of central and eastern North America and is commonly found on the bark of conifers (Pinus, Tsuga) and, in some regions, hardwoods (Acer, Quercus; Lendemer and Hodkinson 2010).