I lived in Carlsbad back in Dec 1960- May 1962. Went to the High school in 1961-62. Then we were dragged kicking and screaming to the tick infested Ozarks.
Sine you mention ticks in the Ozarks, the reason we were shooting jackrabbits around Carlsbad was because of fleas.
At that time, Bubonic Plague had gotten started in the NM jackrabbit population, and it was being spread from rabbit to rabbit by their fleas. The government decided the best way to slow/stop the spread of the plague was to drastically thin the jackrabbit population.
One of the ways they reduced the herd was to "push" the brush on huge tracts of land into a central pile, issue an open invitation to hunters -- set the piles on fire -- and have the hunters shoot the jacks as they ran out. (I never did that.)
Their other approach was to ask the public to go out and shoot as many jackrabbits as possible. I did, and that's why I'm nearly deaf today! (Think about it: when four people are shooting .22 handguns out all four [open] windows of a car -- everyone has one ear right near the muzzle of another shooter's gun. And, we had no idea where to get ear protection in those days...)
Oh, well, it was something to do in Carlsbad -- after the girls went home and the drive-in closed for the night... '-)
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BTW, do you remember that path cut across the cliff face at Sitting Bull Falls -- for the filming of King Solomon''s Mines?