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Moving large trees is not the problem. Moving large trees and having them survive after the transplant is the problem. It’s a costly effort with unpredictable outcomes.  Here are some considerations and consequences if you try to move oaks in wildland settings.  Transplanting a wild oak will never recreate the original tree at a new location, or duplicate the resources it provided at its old location. A transplanted tree will usually lose a large part of its canopy. Severed root mass will disrupt water/nutrient uptake, as fine roots are damaged by the movement. It is also important to consider if transplantation site currently has oak trees.  If oak trees are absent, it may indicate a lack of subsurface water, soil depth or insufficient soil chemistry to grow and maintain oaks.  Therefore, even with a great deal of care there may not be a way that the new site can support an oak that developed in another, probably better location, as the oaks will be forced to respond to a completely different set of soil, substrate, and moisture conditions. The transplanted oak will be a dramatically altered resource, and you have to decide how much time and resources you want to put into the transplant process given a diminished and uncertain outcome.  Tree spades are at the low end of commitment of transplanting effort, often with low rates of success and survivorship.  Boxing the oak tree’s roots is a costly process that increases the probability of a tree living after transplant, but the success rate is still low (