I saw this odd structure near Hart Mountain in SE Oregon a few weeks back. Any ideas of its significance, if any?

My guess is that it is for aerial snow surveys.

It reminds me of one found at Beehive/Hetch Hetchy.





This was there a couple of years ago. They've been replaced with electronincs. The rangers were sledge-hammering them out.

(Edit - or maybe water, if that's a flood plain - now that I've looked at the area, it probably doesn't get too much snow)

Sounds reasonable, though it is a drier area. I definitely think it would more likely be for checking snow depth than water.