Why/how can there be draw free zones for elk in Alberta
 

I'm new to big game hunting in Alberta and was surprised to find that for some zones all I had to do to get an elk liscence was to go and buy it (no draw required).
This leaves me with the question: why is that permitted. It seems to me that it could indicate a few diifferent things:
1 Very few people are interested in hunting that zone for some reason (perhaps its a remote location)
or does it mean
2 There are so many elk in the zone that hunting pressure would be insignificant.
or maybe
3 there are so few elk in the zone that allowing an opent hunt again would be of no consiquence.
is it a combination of these or some other reason that I havn't thought of ?
or maybe I'm just over thinking the situation.

or #4 the elk population is healthy enough to support a harvest.

In the general elk zones bulls need to have a minimum amount of points one one antler, usually 3, in some zones 6. This keeps hunters from taking more younger bulls.

Whether you get drawn of get a general tag, getting a bull is no slam dunk.

There are a few zones that I do know fairly well and I also know people who have hunted these zones that are on the general tag and by all accounts have very few if any elk.
leaving me to wonder ...
Do your odds of success, on average, go way down in a draw free zone ?

i don't think that's necessarily true.

but i know for sure that if you go to 224 looking for elk you wont find one (unless it's in a field with a high fence)

I wonder the same thing for some WMUs....I think a draws can make for a higher quality hunt....

its a combination of everything that has been said so far....and the fact that nearly everything everywhere in alberta is managed for a healthy population number with maximum hunter opportunity and not for trophy quality.