Sand drift threatens human and environmental resources across a broad range of scales, requiring different degrees of response for hazard mitigation. The purpose of this piece is to present a conceptual frameworkConceptual design for categorizing sand drift hazards and appropriate responses. We summarize the nature of blowing sand threats at three scales that are described according to the associated processes: saltationSaltation, channelized sand drift, and dune migrationDune migration. We briefly describe thescale-relevant methods and data needed to estimate sand drift, discuss aspects of the threats with examples, andoutline general engineering and management mitigation methods. The threats include those from saltationSaltation, channelized sand drift, and dune migrationDune migration, ranging in scales from short- to long-term and localized to spatially extensive hazards.