José Manuel Baez Ochoa is from Puerto Lucerna and works across several of Hoja Nueva’s community, land-management, and animal-care programs.

One of his most important responsibilities is protecting Hoja Nueva’s forest. José regularly patrols the organization’s conservation lands, helping detect unauthorized activity, identify problems, maintain access routes and boundaries, and provide an ongoing human presence across a landscape that would otherwise be extremely difficult to monitor continuously.

He also contributes to agroforestry and practical land management, helping maintain working areas around Hoja Nueva’s conservation properties and community operations.

In Puerto Maldonado, José works alongside Karen in Hoja Nueva’s domestic dog and cat rescue program. He assists with feeding, husbandry, rescue, rehabilitation, and the care of young and vulnerable animals.

His unusually broad role connects three parts of Hoja Nueva that are often considered separately: protecting intact habitat, working within the local community, and caring for domestic animals whose health and management can affect surrounding wildlife. As someone from Puerto Lucerna, José also brings local knowledge and long-standing familiarity with the Las Piedras landscape to the organization’s work.