object seen hiking

[TomC]

Yesterday I hiked up Mt Lafayette, then along the ridge trail to Little Haystack, before hiking back down. Along the way, i saw a half-dozen of these things along the trail (off to the side):



Any idea what the purpose of these are? They are about 18" square with a plexiglas pane. Perhaps a windbreak for sensitive vegetation? Never saw anything like them before and i would think that those who manage the ecology would leave nature to take its course in the national/state forest.