A federal appeals court has upheld a decision by federal officials to release water from a Northern California dam to prevent a possible salmon die-off. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation had the authority to release the additional water from Lewiston Dam in 2013 to help migrating winter-run salmon in the lower Klamath River. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the court rejected a lawsuit by Westlands Water District, a major water supplier to Central Valley farmers.