Deeds and Deeds of Trust

[shikamaru]

I have been researching it for several weeks now and am actually in the middle of attempting the process to patent our land.

People don't patent land. Governments and kings patent land.
Depending on where your land is located, there is already some patent existing for it. You need to acquire an official copy of that patent.

We have the benefit of abstracts here in my county as a part of every deal (only recently quit doing that) and I have copies of the original land grant from the US to my state in 1828 on down to the original patent in 1852 and on to today. I've researched at the court house and seen all the original recordings as well. I'm currently awaiting BLM to call me back with a certified copy of the original patent so I can move forward on the local level.

Very good.

Depending on the State you are in, the land may or may not be public domain. If it is not, the patent would be at state archive. This is especially the case with the 13 original colonies.

You will want to obtain the plat map (also know as cadastral map) of your land as well as all treaties, ordinances, and other federal statutory laws that have impact on the patent.

Sending notice to all interested parties therein that you have the federal patent and all necessary papers should make a lot of "happy" state- and commercial-wide .
"The happy" comes in the potential loss of usufructus for those state and commercial entities.
Usufruct is the right to enjoy/benefit from the property of another which includes deriving profits therefrom.

If you have any mortgages on the land, discharge 'em.
You'll want to review property insurance with an eye towards cancelling ....

Other rights such as mineral and/or riparian are separate from the land patent. You may want to pursue those next, but it is all about how the patent was originally drafted.