I learned this lesson the hard way with my pond. About 1/3 of the pond was dug from forested land. We left many of the mature trees in that area (driveway was moved to cross the dam and go through this area). Heavy equipment was used and was, by necessity, not kept off of the root systems due to the clearing needed. 5 years later 75% of these trees have died and we are still having fatalities every year. At $1000 a pop to professionally fell the trees that could fall on something valuable, I wish I had just bulldozed the entire area and planted anew.
Your tree sounds beautiful and it is worth trying, but in my experience it is a gamble.
