Benefits of multi-level watershed managementNon-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played an important role in establishing local methods of water protection environment while integrating citizen participation. The most common types of NGOs in the United States are those that mobilize public opinion and advocate for legislative and/or social change. These include the various Public Interest Groups (PIRG), the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund, and Greenpeace. Education and public participation are essential elements of the success of these organizations. Therefore, the application of NGOs to other issues could prove effective in promoting and implementing change while improving the community in which they reside. This is the case for relatively new watershed management associations in New Jersey. These organizations employ grassroots tactics to increase community education and establish stronger environmental protections. Thus, I affirm that intermunicipal (and interstate as we will see later) management, through the use of non-governmental organizations, has the capacity to have a profound impact on the way in which natural resources are managed and, by therefore, on how an area is managed. is developed. This is extremely valuable for a state like New Jersey, where uncoordinated development has led to a sprawling landscape causing fragmentation of natural features and a serious decline in water quality. Moreover, in the vast bureaucratic system of development that dominates New Jersey, this method of NGO watershed management is a qualitative and creative way to promote democracy, public education, and public participation. Examine how watershed management associations can improve environmental monitoring and, therefore, development. models, we must first examine the existing landscape model at the physical and political scales. New Jersey is made up of 566 municipalities, each operating pseudo-independently of one another. These municipalities, “…each with the power to make decisions and policies regarding development without regard to their potential negative effects on neighboring towns” (Shutkin 2000), create an atmosphere of competition and discordance. This unproductive circumstance is a product of human invention. For it is “multiple ownership or administration within watersheds [that] present major challenges for watershed management policy and planning” (Satterlund and Adams 1992). Municipal boundaries do not take into account larger natural boundaries. While it is true that a municipal boundary may coincide with a stream or ridge, municipalities generally overlook larger, more important boundaries such as watersheds...