In an interview with NBC’s Tom Brokaw on Saturday, Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter discussed the upcoming presidential race, the pressing need for a federal energy policy and the importance of coal to the national economy.

With increasing pressure to drill for more oil and gas on public lands in the West, the governors emphasized the need for a rational federal energy policy that includes diverse sources including fossil fuels, renewable sources and an infusion of funding for research into clean coal and other technologies.

In the wide-ranging interview taped at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club, Brokaw described the West as a region that is emerging as a new political battleground. The governors emphasized the need for bipartisan cooperation and pointed to the Western Governors Association as an organization where Republican and Democratic governors work in concert to achieve policy goals.

Wyoming and Colorado are among other states in the region that are struggling to achieve a balance between wildlife conservation and energy resource development. In order to ensure the future of the West’s wildlife herds, more attention must be paid to wildlife migration corridors, Freudenthal said. Efforts to achieve balance between energy development and conservation in the region would be more effective if the federal government would be a better partner on the issue, he said.