Articles are generally written for an audience of natural resources professionals, with topics spanning the many facets or disciplines of forestry.

[2] The origins of the Journal of Forestry go back to October 1902, when one of its predecessors, the Forestry Quarterly, was first published at the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell University, in Ithaca, New York, under the editorial advisement of Bernhard E. Fernow, John Gifford, and Walter Mulford.

[3] Less than a year later, upon closure of the College, the Quarterly commenced independent publication, with Bernhard E. Fernow as editor-in-chief and a board of editors consisting of many prominent figures in American forestry in the early part of the 20th century, including Carl Schenck, founder of the Biltmore Forest School and Andrew J. Foy of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The Journal of Forestry commenced publication in 1917, incorporating the Quarterly and the Proceedings of the Society of American Foresters.

[5] He reported that for the period from 2000 to 2007, the Journal of Forestry ranked number 8 of 180 using the h-index.