Instead of functioning on the level of the town boundary, the state boundary, the census tract, or county lines, watersheds cross political jurisdictions in favor of a natural resource-based boundary.

This method presents benefits and obstacles to implementation of policies. Regional cooperation is favorable in order to capitalize on the combined resources and knowledge of many parties but also presents logistical problems that watershed managers are still attempting to solve.

For example, there may be a desire to coordinate openspace planning on a regional level but none of the towns, conservation commissions, or land trusts have access to openspace maps across their borders.