Threats include predation by cats, the introduction of the common myna, deforestation, off-road vehicle use, the Saint Helena Airport and a projected windfarm.

[4] A census in 1988–89 recorded roughly 450 birds, although that number declined sharply over the following decade, due to causes not fully understood.

Due to its dropping numbers and uncertain prospects, the Saint Helena plover was uplisted to Critically Endangered in the 2007 version of the IUCN Red List.

A reassessment in 2016 suggested that the population had recovered somewhat from this minimum and may be slowly increasing; as a consequence, the species was downlisted to Vulnerable.

The newly built Saint Helena Airport at Prosperous Bay Plain has altered one of the major patches of remaining habitat, especially as other grassland is now slated for reforestation to aid recovery of the island's ecosystem, and a major wind turbine project has been proposed for the species' most important breeding area.