The quickest way to earn the Earl's ire is to steal his hart.— Slater Riding saying
Slatten Weld, alternatively known as Slatten Wood or Slaterwood Forest, is a large forest that covers much of the western half of Slater Riding. It is bounded to the north and east by farmland, to the west and south west by the rivers Lant and Wych, and to the south east by the tors and highlands of the
Sea Moor. Slatten Weld is notorious for being swampy where it borders the river Lant, particularly at its confluence with the river Wych at the town of
Lantwych.
Slatten Weld is by law a Crown Reserve, which is the property of the Wexen Crown. Under the provisions of the Ridings Act, the maintenance and management of the Crown Reserves are entrusted to the local lords. In the case of Slatten Weld, this responsibility is given to the Earl of Slater Ride.
Access to the forest, while not strictly forbidden, is highly discouraged for most purposes. Settlements on the periphery are allowed access for the purposes of forestry, forage, and small game hunting. However, these access rights are heavily restricted.
Forestry
Settlements directly adjacent to Slatten Weld enjoy the common right to forestry, though as a Crown Reserve there are restrictions placed upon these rights. Settlements are permitted to practice coppicing for obtaining building materials and firewood, and for the production of charcoal, though a coup may not exceed two acres in area.
Under the Great Ships Act, the unauthorised damage or felling of any oak or pine is strictly forbidden, as these trees are a strategic resourse vital for ship construction. Exception is granted only when a protected tree is dead or dying, and such a tree impinges on a road, settlement, or pasture, and the local lord or sheriff agrees that such acion is necessary.
Hunting and Poaching
Settlements directly adjacent to Slatten Weld enjoy the common right to hunt wild game for food, though as a Crown Reserve there are such severe restrictions placed upon these rights, hunting may as well be forbidden.
Under the ancient common rights, communities are permitted to hunt game for the purposes of sourcing food, for sourcing warm hides and pelts for clothes making, and for the protection of livestock against predators such as wolves. However, as a Crown Reserve, all game is the property of the Crown, who reserves the sole right to grant hunting rights as the Crown sees fit.
This conflict between the rights of the common and the rights of the Crown has led to the Poaching Act, which concedes some limited rights to hunt certain small game to the commons, but explicitly introduces the crime of Poaching, which is defined as the act of hunting certain game including hart, boar, wolf, pheasant, partridge, and hare, as well as the act of trophy hunting. The penalty for Poaching is death. Under the Riding Act, only the Earl of Slater Ride.and their guests are exempt from the restrictions on hunting within Slatten Weld under the Poaching Act.
It is extremely risky to hunt within a Crown Reserve. Even under their legal rights to hunt small game, a hunter caught within Slatten Weld may still find themselves accused of poaching protected game and hanged for it.
Red Wolf Lodge
Under the provisions of the Poaching Act, the Earl of Slater Ride is obliged to enforce the prohibition on hunting protected game within Slatten Weld. To this end, the Red Wolf Lodge was founded to track and catch suspected poachers.
It is suspected that some members of the Lodge are themselves in fact poachers, however such accusations require a higher burden of evidence due to the fact that Lodge hunters are meant to be there.
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