More changes could be ahead for glyphosate use in the U.S. after the EPA released a draft Biological Evaluation for the herbicide, which scrutinizes the pesticide's potential effect on federally listed endangered species and designated critical habitats.
 
The agency determined that glyphosate is "likely to adversely affect" 1,676 listed species and 759 critical habitats, the vast majority of the species and habitats it considered. If this draft conclusion is finalized as is, EPA will have to loop in two other federal agencies -- the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service -- to figure out how best to protect these species and habitats in its registration decisions for glyphosate.
 
The agency's work on this evaluation is why all past registration decisions for glyphosate and many other pesticides have remained "interim" decisions. All pesticides are now required to undergo biological evaluations, which determine whether they may affect listed endangered species or habitats, which means any registration decisions in the meantime are not legally complete.
 
Ultimately, EPA's draft biological evaluation for glyphosate determined that 93% of the endangered species it considered could be negatively affected by the herbicide, with plants accounting for more than half of them. The rest were mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians, insects and other invertebrates. The agency also concluded that 96% of the critical habitats it considered could be at risk from the herbicide, as well.
 
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