Reading Aerial Photos of Forests

[billski]

I'm looking at a NH State Forest aerial photo (googlemaps) and I see this pattern carved amoungst the trees. What is it?
Lat 43°29'52.07"N
Long 71°58'4.98"W
The road nearby are woods roads, likely they are chained shut.
Ideas?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=43%C2%B029'52.07%22N,+71%C2%B058'4.98%22W&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

 

[from_the_NEK]

This is a type of logging practice that was created to avoid total clear cuts. The loggers cutout small areas on the grid and leave roughly 2/3s of the forest standing. The helps with regeneration and help protect the young trees that grow back as well as maintaining quality forest cover/travel routes for wildlife. It is also a huge help with controlling erosion. These cuts also look way better from the roads and surrounding mountains than a clear cut.
10-15 years from now the loggers can come back and cut the remaining trees and the regeneration from the initial cut is already well under way to recovering.
Take a look around the Mt Washington Hotel. Bet you didn't know that area had been recently logged.
44°16'4.69"N, 71°25'47.04"W