Elytra are already going to be highly contested. They don't respawn. Same exists with a number of other items (Hearts of the Sea, Geodes, etc.)

Bring back each of the old tree servers on a rotating basis. They'll be available for a week, and then get nuked for the next one. Then we can go to places like Maple to level up our wilderspades by decimating an entire gravel mountain without making an unslightly mess where someone might live. We can also get items like Elytra, Sponges, and Hearts of the Sea, which are limited and difficult to obtain after a while.