Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO

SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, William H. Shea, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of PVR GP, LLC, the general partner of PVR Partners, L.P. (the “Registrant”), certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Amendment No.1 to Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Registrant (this “Report”); and

2. Based on my knowledge, this Report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this Report.