Oprah is devoting two full episodes to her recent camping trip at Yosemite National Park this week. Unbelievably, it was her first trip ever to a national park.

For that, you can thank Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson.

Johnson, who is originally from inner-city Detroit, is on a longrunning mission to increase the number of African American visitors to the national park system.

He estimates that less than one percent of Yosemite visitors are African American and laments he's far more likely to see tourists from Japan than encounter a black family from nearby Oakland. He himself happens to be the only African American ranger in all of Yosemite—one of the most iconic parks in this nation.

Whether white or black, rich or poor, rural or inner-city, getting all Americans out to state and national parks is vital to the health of our nation and important to rally support for conservation causes. 

Johnson says the exposure of Oprah's show will be like "an earthquake" that sends out seismic waves of culture change across the black community.

His ultimate visitor to champion the parks cause to the black community, however, would be Snoop Dogg, the famous rap superstar. 

"All Snoop Dogg has to do is go camping in Yosemite and it would change the world," Johnson says. "If Oprah Winfrey went on a road trip to the national parks, it would do more than I have done in my whole career."

Well, he got Oprah. Please sign this letter to Snoop Dogg's publicist and tell him to go camping with Ranger Johnson!