The AML Knowledge Base is the written reference library at the heart of AML-Connect. It contains 180+ articles organized into eight top-level categories. This article explains how to find what you need efficiently.
The Eight Categories
The Knowledge Base is organized into eight categories, each covering a distinct area of PA AML/AMD practice:
- Using AML Connect — how to use this platform (you are here)
- AML and AMD Basics — foundational concepts: what AMD is, how it forms, its impacts
- Watershed Tools and Methods — watershed assessment, monitoring methods, water quality
- AML Reclamation and AMD Treatment — passive and active treatment, O&M, land reclamation
- Organizational Development — building and sustaining watershed organizations
- Community Development — community engagement and watershed partnerships
- Environmental Education — training programs, educational resources
- AML Network — the PA AML/AMD network, key organizations, how to find help
Using the Search Bar
The search bar at the top of the Knowledge Base searches across all article titles and content. Use plain language terms — “passive treatment” or “monitoring protocol” — rather than acronyms. If your first search doesn’t find what you need, try a broader term or browse by category.
Start Here Pages
Every active category has a Start Here page that introduces the category, lists five to ten recommended first articles in reading order, and links to the relevant forum board for questions. If you are new to a topic area, start with the Start Here page before diving into individual articles.
Reading Paths
Within each category, articles are ordered in a recommended reading sequence. The Start Here page introduces the sequence. Individual articles include a Related Pages section at the bottom — use these to move forward or backward in a topic track.
Crosslinks Between Sections
KB articles frequently link to relevant Resources (documents to download), Media (photos or videos of systems or methods), and the Data Hub (maps and spatial data). These crosslinks appear in the Links and Resources section of each article. Follow them when you need more than the written explanation provides.
