I would suspect that if the elk are on private ranches, the wolves will go there after them. Less elk hunters on the private ranches mean less guys with rifles to shoot t the wolves, too. Also, I would suspect that the wolves would quickly learn to hunt the elk at night, if being shot at by the ranchers was an issue.
I am not sure why Fish and Game has to set up special depredation hunts for these big ranchers that don't allow hunting. It seems to be a way for the state to subsidize these private hunting preserves of the ultra rich.
