The SMUDGES Survey is a large optical imaging and spectroscopic survey designed to take advantage of the wide field capabilities of both of the WIYN Telescopes.

The goal is to create a deep and complete galaxy catalog that is unbiased by the current star formation activity in each galaxy. The SMUDGES survey will be the first that has both the depth and volume to identify a statistically significant number of dwarf galaxies and that will include both starbursting and quiescent galaxies.

The survey will cover 134 square degrees in 3 filters, B, V, and I. When complete, the SMUDGES survey will yield an extensive galaxy catalog with magnitudes, colors, redshifts, and morphological data for tens of thousands of galaxies.

Direct number counts of the different dwarf galaxy populations will determine for the first time the fraction of dwarf galaxies that go through a starburst phase, and the duty cycle of that phase.

If the starburst phase is uncommon, i.e., most dwarf galaxies do not undergo a strong burst of star formation, then it is unlikely that dwarf galaxies are responsible for the early enrichment of the intergalactic medium, and an alternative explanation must be found for the rapidly evolving population of faint blue galaxies identified at intermediate redshift.