LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein has asked President Barack Obama to bypass Congress and create three national monuments in the California desert. The California Democrat’s proposals would give federal protection to more than 1,560 square miles of mountain ranges, sandy expanses and forests running roughly between Palm Springs and the Nevada border, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday. The area is home to mountain lions, the California desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, fringe-toed lizards and more than 250 species of birds.